HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 


Publications  of  the  Bureau  for 
Research  in  Municipal  Government 


1.  Municipal  Charters.  By  Nathan 
Matthews,  LL.D.,  former  Mayor  of 
Boston.  $2.00  net. 

2.  A  Bibliography  of  Municipal  Gov- 
ernment. By  William  Bennett  Munro, 
Professor  of  Municipal  Government  in  Har- 
vard University.  In  Press. 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  THE  ESSENTIALS  OF  A 

CITY  CHARTER  WITH  FORMS  OR 

MODELS  FOR  ADOPTION 


BY 

NATHAN  MATTHEWS,  LL.D. 

Mayor  of  Boston,  1891-1895 

Chairman,  Boston  Finance  Commission,  1907-1909 

Lecturer  on  MuNiaPAL  Government  in  Harvard  University 


^^^ 


CAMBRIDGE 

HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

1914 


p 


rA3 


CX)PYRIGHT,  I914 
HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


PREFATORY   NOTE 

This  book  is  mainly  the  outcome  of  a  course  of  instruction  given 
in  the  Department  of  Government  at  Harvard  University  during 
the  academic  year  1911-12.  It  is  now  printed  with  some  addi- 
tions, explanations  and  alternative  suggestions  as  the  first  volume 
in  a  series  of  pubKcations  dealing  with  the  general  subject  of 
municipal  government. 

The  attention  of  the  reader  is  particularly  directed  to  the  fact 
that  the  author's  object  has  been  to  prepare  a  prac^^^ 
of  municipal  legislation  with  special  emphasis  on  administrative 


provisions,  and  that  he  regards  the  political  mechanism  of  the  city 
government  as  of  relatively  minor  cojisequence. 

The  author  would  also  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  both  the 
administrative  and  the  political  features  of  the  charters  submitted 
in  this  book  are,  with  few  exceptions,  based  upon  his  own  experi- 
ence, official  or  professional,  during  the  past  thirty  years. 

Acknowledgment  should  be  made  of  the  author's  indebtedness 
to  Mr.  Edwin  A.  Cottrell,  Assistant  in  Government  at  the  Uni- 
versity, for  his  cooperation  in  the  preparation  of  this  book. 


iii 


293421 


CONTENTS 

PART   I 
THE  ESSENTIALS  OF  AN  AMERICAN  CITY  CHARTER 

CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

»^ .    Contents  and  Form      3-8 

CHAPTER  II 
f^     General  Type  of  Charter 9-18 

CHAPTER  III 

Qi      Political  Features 19-33 

^             a.  The  Suffrage : 19-20 

b.  Number  and  Terms  of  Elective  Officers 20-21 

c.  Nominations  and  Elections     21-23 

d.  Election  by  Districts  or  at  Large 24 

e.  Proportional  Representation  akd  Preferential  Voting  24-25 

/.  The  Taxing  and  Borrowing  Power 25-28 

g.  Direct  Legislation 28-33 

CHAPTER  IV 

v4        Relations  with  the  State 34-42 

a.  Compulsory  Administrative  Methods 36 

b.  Direct  State  Control 36-42 

(i)  Loans 37-38 

(2)  Civil  Service 38-40 

(3)  Investigations 40-42 

(4)  Street  Franchises 42 

(5)  Municipal  Ownership 42 

CHAPTER  V 

b     Relations  with  Public  Service  Corporations 43-49 

a.  The  Terms  of  the  Franchise 43-44 

b.  Regulation  of  Rates  and  Service 45 

c.  Capitalization 45-46 

d.  Limitation  of  Profits 46-47 

e.  MuNicrPAL  Competition 47-48 


V 


\ 


VI  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VI 


PAGE 


Administrative  Provisions  —  Officers  and  Employees    .   .   .  50-57 

a.  Organization  of  the  Executive  Department    ....  50-52 

b.  Chief  Administrative  Officers 52-53 

c.  Mode  of  Appointment 53 

d.  Subordinate  Employees 53 

e.  Removals 53-56 

/.  Residence  as  a  Qualification 57 

CHAPTER  VII 

'        Adaonistrative  Provisions — Appropriations,  Taxes  and  Loans  58-67 

a.  The  Annual  Estimates 58-59 

b.  The  Annual  Budget 59-60 

c.  Transfers 60 

d.  The  Tax  Levy 60 

e.  Purposes  and  Terms  for  which  Money  may  be  Bor- 

rowed      61 

/.  Other  Checks  on  the  Borrowing  Power 62 

g.  Forms  of  Loans,  Sinking  Fund  and  Serial 62-67 

h.  Loans  in  Anticipation  of  Taxes 67 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Administrative  Provisions  —  General  Rules  for  the  Conduct 

OF  Business 68-75 

a.  The    Letting    of    Contracts  and  the  Purchase    of 

Supplies 68-71 

b.  Work  that  Should  be  Done  by  Contract 72-73 

c.  Prohibition  of  Collusive  Profits 73-74 

d.  Interference  by  the  City   Council  with  Executive 

Work 74-75 

e.  Prohibition    of   Expenditures   in  Excess  of  Appro- 

PIOATIONS      75 

CHAPTER  IX 

/  ^       Administrative  Provisions  —  The  Assessment  of  Taxes  .   .   .     76-78 

CHAPTER  X 
fy     Administrative  Provisions  —  Accounts  and  Reports   ....     79-81 

CHAPTER  XI 

ny   Administrative    Provisions  —  The  Management   of   Water, 

Gas  and  Similar  Municipal  Enterprises 82-89 

CHAPTER  XII 
^      Conclusion 90-93 


CONTENTS  VU 

PART  II 
CHARTER  DRAFTS 

A.  Responsible  Executive  Type 97-163 

B.  Commission  Type 164-174 

PART  III 
NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS         177-203 

Index 207-210 


PART  I 

THE   ESSENTIALS  OF  AN  AMERICAN 
CITY   CHARTER 


MUNICIPAL    CHARTERS 

CHAPTER  I 

Contents  and  Form 

Towns  and  cities  in  American  public  law  are  regarded  as  politi- 
cal departments  of  the  state  government,  and  are  in  almost  all 
respects  subject  to  the  will  of  the  legislature.  In  some  of  the 
states  certain  rights  are  guaranteed  and  certain  duties  imposed  by 
the  constitution;  and  towns  and  cities  may  generally  be  made  the 
recipient  of  trust  funds,  and  are  then  pro  tanto  subject  to  the  com- 
mon law  of  trusts.  In  all  the  states,  moreover,  there  is  a  class  of 
property  which  if  held  by  a  municipal  corporation  at  all  is  held  in 
a  private  or  proprietary  capacity  and  as  such  is  within  the  protec- 
tion of  the  state  and  federal  constitutions.  With  these  exceptions, 
villages,  fire  and  water  districts,  towns,  cities  and  other  territorial 
subdivisions  of  the  state,  whether  formally  incorporated  or  not, 
are,  generally  speaking,  endowed  with  such  powers  and  privileges 
only,  and  are  subject  to  such  duties  as  the  legislature  may  from 
time  to  time  prescribe.^ 

The  special  privileges  resting  on  prescription,  royal  grant  or 
custom,  which  still  (though  to  a  far  less  degree  than  in  former 
times)  afifect  the  powers  and  duties  of  municipal  corporations  in 
England,  are  non-existent  in  this  country.  The  names,  mayor, 
alderman,  councilman,  and  the  like,  have  survived;  but  the 
powers  and  duties  of  these  officials  do  not  rest  upon  the  basis  of 
common  law,  custom  or  ancient  grant,  but  upon  modern  statutes 
which  are  different  in  every  state,  and  often  different  for  every 
city  in  any  given  state. 

*  The  best  discussion  of  this  subject  in  its  legal  aspects  is  to  be  found  in  Dillon, 
The  Law  of  Municipal  Corporations  (sth  ed.,  Boston,  191 1)  sec.  31-33,  55,  58,  69, 
98,  100,  106-108,  111-124,  132,  278-289. 


:/;  V  :4  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

h^_  An  American  city  is  usually  created  by  a  special  act  or  "  char- 
ter "  which  establishes  its  political  framework  and  contains  a 
greater  or  less  number  of  detailed  provisions  for  the  conduct  of  its 
,^ ,,  affairs.  This  original  instrument  is  modified  as  succeeding  legis- 
latures see  fit;  and  it  is  often  repealed  in  its  entirety  and  another 
substituted  in  its  stead.  The  new  enactments,  like  the  original 
charter,  are  subject  to  specific  amendment  and  to  the  general 
laws  enacted  by  subsequent  legislatures.  Revisions  of  the  general 
laws  are  frequent;  and,  in  the  case  of  the  larger  cities,  efforts  are 
sometimes  made  to  arrange  and  coordinate  the  accumulated  mass 
of  laws  relating  to  them  by  means  of  ''  consolidated  "  charters. 
■  The  provisions  of  law  affecting  municipal  government  are  thus 
contained  either  in  formal  charters,  specific  amendments,  or  gen- 
eral municipal  laws;  all  three  forms  of  enactment  being  used 
indifferently  for  any  political  or  administrative  provision  which 
the  legislature  desires  to  apply  to  the  cities  within  its  jurisdiction. 
The  term  "  city  charter  "  is  commonly  and  legally  used  to  desig- 
nate not  only  the  original  act  of  incorporation  where  there  is  one, 
but  any  instrument  substituted  at  a  later  date,  together  with  such 
acts  of  the  legislature,  whether  or  not  specifically  described  as 
amendments,  which  are  such  in  effect;  that  is,  to  designate  and 
include  the  totality  of  legislation  affecting  the  organization  and 
administration  of  a  particular  city.^  The  constitutions  of  some 
of  our  states  also  contain  provisions  which  are  in  the  nature  of 
charter  restrictions  upon  the  government  of  cities. 

The  proper  scope  of  a  city  charter,  as  distinguished  from  other 
forms  of  legislation  affecting  municipal  corporations,  is  thus  not 
easy  to  determine;  and  there  is  no  uniformity  of  practice  or 
opinion  to  rely  upon. 

The  fact  that  the  organic  laws  affecting  the  administration  of  a 
^/^    given  city  are  not  to  be  found  within  the  pages  of  a  single  statute, 

1  The  following  decisions  of  the  courts  may  be  referred  to: 
"  The  charter,  as  it  is  called,  consists  of  the  creative  act  and  all  laws  in  force 
relating  to  the  corporation  whether  defining  its  powers  or  regulating  their  mode  of 
exercise."  —  People  ex  rel  Rochester  v.  Briggs,  50  N.  Y.  553,  560. 

The  word  "  charter  "  when  applied  to  municipal  corporations  may  be  defined 
as  "  the  enabling  acts  under  which  a  municipal  corporation  exercises  its  privileges 
and  powers  and  performs  its  duties  and  obligations."  —  State  ex  rel  Arosin  v.  Ehr- 
mantrout,  63  Minn.  104. 


CONTENTS  AND  FORM  S 

but  must  be  sought  for  in  charters,  amendments  and  miscellaneous 
laws  often  aggregating  many  hundred  in  number/  is  not  only 
a  stumbling  block  to  the  inquiring  citizen  but  an  encouragement 
to  mismanagement  and  fraud.  The  more  intricate  and  uncertain 
the  provisions  of  law,  the  greater  the  opportunities  for  a  corrupt 
use  of  them;  and  the  citizen  who  has  not  made  a  special  study 
of  these  complications  is  at  a  great  disadvantage  as  compared 
with  the  municipal  politician  who  is  ignorant  perhaps  of  every 
other  subject,  but  a  master  of  this. 

Many  city  charters  contain  too  much  detail;  others  not 
enough.  The  management  of  some  department  is  often,  for  in- 
stance, the  subject  of  an  elaborate  chapter  or  statute,  which  in 
practice  is  found  ineffectual  to  secure  the  end  in  view,  because 
some  essential  direction  is  omitted,  and  the  city  officials  do  what 
the  law  requires  and  no  more.  There  is  too  much  attention, 
particularly  in  the  newer  charters,  to  political  machinery,  and  too 
little  to  administrative  methods.  There  is  too  much  hasty  re- 
enactment  and  copying  of  the  provisions  of  prior  charters,  thus 
perpetuating  and  spreading  their  defects.  Our  city  charters, 
moreover,  are  as  a  rule  carelessly  drawn,  thus  requiring  constant 
amendment.  There  is  no  uniformity  in  language,  order  or  ter- 
minology; and  there  is  generally  an  unnecessary  amount  of 
repetition. 

In  drafting  a  new  charter  or  municipal  law,  we  ought,  there- 
fore, so  far  as  substance  is  concerned,  to  distinguish  in  the  first 
place,  between  those  provisions  which  are  appropriate  to  such 
charters  or  laws,  and  those  which  fall  more  fittingly  in  the  domain 
of  the  general  law.  Some  subjects  clearly  belong  to  one  class  or 
the  other ;  but  many  are  on  the  border  fine,  and  opinions  may  well 
differ  as  to  whether  they  should  be  included  in  a  municipal  char- 
ter or  not.  The  writer  has  assumed  that  such  matters  as  the 
suffrage,  the  taxation  of  property,  the  control  of  the  public  ways, 
the  public  health,  fire  and  police  protection,  the  sale  of  intoxica- 
ting liquors,  the  taking  of  property  by  eminent  domain,  the  crim- 

1  As  illustrating  this  point  it  may  be  noted  that  since  the  passage  in  1854  of  the 
present  so-called  "  charter  "  of  the  city  of  Boston  the  Massachusetts  legislature  has 
enacted  over  twelve  hundred  laws  affecting  that  city,  nearly  all  of  which  are  in  the 
nature  of  amendments  to  the  act  of  1854. 


6  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

inal  law,  and  in  general  all  questions  of  judicial  procedure,  affect 
the  citizens  of  the  state  as  such  rather  than  as  members  of  a  parti- 
cular city;  and  that  legislation  on  these  and  similar  topics  of 
general  concern,  although  sometimes  found  in  city  charters  or 
charter  amendments,  has  no  proper  place  in  such  statutes.^  The 
question  is  largely  one  of  individual  preference,  and  no  claim  is 
made  that  the  writer's  selection  is  the  best.  He  has  merely 
endeavored  to  draw  the  Hne  in  such  a  way  as,  in  his  experience, 
will  best  suit  the  practical  convenience  of  city  ofl&cials  and  others 
who  have  occasion  to  inform  themselves  as  to  the  scope  and  limits 
of  municipal  power. 

The  next  question  of  substance  to  consider  is  whether  a  given 
provision  of  law  should  be  put  into  a  specific  city  charter,  or 
should  be  enacted  as  part  of  a  general  law  affecting  all  cities,  or 
all  cities  of  a  certain  class.  This  question  will  be  decided  differ- 
ently in  the  different  states  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of 
^the  state  constitution,  if  there  are  any  on  the  subject;  and  also 
in  compliance  with  current  opinion  on  the  subject  of  uniformity 
in  mimicipal  laws.  The  charter  drafts  contained  in  this  volume 
include  many  provisions  relating  to  municipal  administration 
which  in  some  states  commonly  have  been,  and  in  others  must  be 
incorporated  in  general  laws  applicable  to  all  cities,  or  to  all  cities 
of  a  certain  class;  because  if  the  drafts  are  to  serve  as  models 
for  the  organization  and  administration  of  cities  as  well  in  states 
which  do  not  legislate  on  this  subject  by  general  law  as  in  those 
which  do,  they  must  cover  the  whole  field  of  such  legislation,  lb 
a  combination  of  special  charters  and  general  laws  is  preferred,  it 
will  be  found  that  any  of  the  administrative  details  of  the  accom- 
panying bills  may  readily  be  recast  in  the  form  of  a  general  law. 
The  writer's  own  view  is  that  uniformity  in  municipal  legislation 
is  a  very  desirable  thing,  and  the  bills  in  this  volume  have 
accordingly  been  written  with  the  object  of  making  them  appli- 
cable, with  but  few  changes,  to  a  general  municipal  law  as  well  as 
to  a  charter  for  some  particular  city. 

*  Some  apparent  departures  from  this  policy  may  be  noted  in  the  charter  drafts. 
Absolute  consistency  in  a  matter  of  this  sort  is  impossible. 


CONTENTS  AND  FORM  7 

So  far  as  form  goes,  the  improvements  needed  are  condensation 
in  a  single  instrument,  a  simple  and  logical  arrangement,  a  uni- 
form terminology,  consistency  between  the  different  parts,  and 
the  avoidance  of  ambiguities  and  unnecessary  repetition. 

The  accompanying  charters  have  been  drafted  with  the  intent 
to  incorporate  in  them  such  poHtical  and  administrative  provi- 
sions as,  in  the  experience  and  opinion  of  the  writer,  are  desirable 
provisions  of  a  city  charter  or  general  municipal  law;  to  arrange 
the  matter  in  a  logical  order;  to  condense  it  as  much  as  possible 
without  creating  ambiguity;  and  to  prepare  an  instrument  whiChTJ 
with  but  slight  alterations,  may  serve  as  a  model  for  legislation 
in  any  state  respecting  cities  of  any  size. 

The  details  of  the  accompanying  bills  may  seem  to  some  to  be 
too  numerous ;  but  no  topic  has  been  included  which  has  not  been 
the  subject  of  legislation  by  some  state  for  application  to  one  or 
more  of  the  cities  within  its  limits;  and,  except  as  indicated  in  the 
notes,  no  provision  has  been  inserted  which  has  not  been  tested 
in  actual  practice  or  is  not  based  upon  the  experience,  professional 
or  official,  of  the  writer.  The  instruments  as  a  whole  are  much 
simpler  and  shorter  than  the  body  of  statutes,  general  or  special, 
which,  together  with  the  charter  itself,  constitute  the  organic  law 
of  most  American  cities.^ 

A  minor  difficulty  in  drafting  the  bills  submitted  in  this  volume 
was  presented  by  the  great  differences  in  the  state  laws  to  which 
a  city  charter  or  general  municipal  law  must  constantly  refer. 
While  it  was  felt  that,  in  order  to  be  most  useful  as  precedents  or 
models,  the  drafts  should  conform  to  the  general  laws  of  some  one 
state,  and  while  Massachusetts  was  selected  for  that  purpose,  the 
attempt  has  been  made  to  draw  the  bills,  both  as  to  form  and  sub- 
stance, in  such  a  way  as  to  render  them  available,  with  as  few 
changes  as  possible,  for  cities  in  any  state.  In  some  particulars, 
as  where  a  state  board  or  commission  is  referred  to  which  has  no 
counterpart  in  the  state  in  which  it  may  be  sought  to  apply  the 

^  One  of  the  latest  city  charters,  that  adopted  by  the  city  of  Portland,  Ore.,  in 
1913,  consists  of  180  closely  printed  pages.  On  the  other  hand  many  charters,  es- 
pecially of  the  commission  type,  are  so  short  and  incomplete  as  to  amount  to  little 
more  than  a  perpetual  invitation  to  amendment. 


8  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

charter,  a  more  or  less  substantial  change  must  be  made;  but 
these  hindrances  to  the  general  use  of  the  instrument  are  not,  it 
is  hoped,  either  numerous  or  insuperable. 

While  the  drafts  submitted  would  best  meet  the  requirements 
of  a  city  containing  about  100,000  people,  they  have  been  so 
drawn  as  to  be  applicable  to  smaller  places  by  reducing  the  num- 
ber of  departments  and  officials,  and  to  cities  of  larger  size  by 
increasing  the  same. 

It  is  the  hope  of  the  writer  that  his  book  may  be  of  assistance 
to  those  who  are  interested  in  municipal  government  in  this  coun- 
try, and  that  in  particular  it  may  commend  itself  to  legislative, 
municipal,  and  non-official  committees  who  are  drawing  up  muni- 
cipal laws  or  charters,  as  providing  a  plan  of  city  government  at 
once  practical,  efficient  and  progressive. 


CHAPTER  II 

The  General  Type  of  Charter 

The  first  step  in  drawing  a  city  charter  is,  of  course,  to  determine  v 
its  main  Knes,  or  type. 

For  this  work  it  will  be  found  that  foreign  precedents  are  of 
little  or  no  value,  owing  to  the  great  differences  in  poKtical  con- 
ditions and  statutory  practice;  and  that  the  American  precedents, 
although  very  numerous,  may  be  reduced  to  three  main  types  or  ^ 
classes. 

The  few  city  charters  granted  prior  to  the  Revolution  were  /. 
modeled,  as  to  general  plan,  after  the  English  charter  of  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries;  that  is,  there  was  a  mayor  with 
little  power  except  as  a  magistrate  and  presiding  oJOGicer,  and  a 
board  of  aldermen  or  common  council,  sometimes  both,  in  which 
the  general  control  of  the  city  business  was  vested.  The  colonial 
city  charters  contained,  however,  but  few  of  the  close-corporation 
features  of  an  English  town  or  borough;  and  the  dislike  of  such 
provisions  together  with  the  fear  that  if  cities  were  once  estab- 
lished they  would  be  practically  exempt  from  control  by  the 
legislature,  kept  their  number  small,  and  entirely  prevented  their 
creation  in  the  New  England  colonies.^ 

^  A  brief  account  of  American  city  charters  in  the  pre-Revolutionary  period  is  to 
be  found  in  chapter  v  of  Professor  J.  A.  Fairiie's  Municipal  Administration  (New- 
York,  1906);  to  which  may  be  added  a  reference  to  the  abortive  charters  for  "  Ag- 
amenticus  "  (April  10,  1641)  and  "  Georgeana  "  (March  i,  1641-42)  issued  for  the 
settlement  under  the  Gorges  patent  afterwards  known  as  York.  See  Ebenezer 
Hazard,  Historical  Collections  (2  vols.,  Philadelphia,  1792-1794),  i,  pp.  470-474  and 
480-481. 

The  second  of  these  instruments  is  particularly  instructive  as  showing  just  what 
kind  of  cities  might  have  been  set  up  in  the  colonies  if  the  effort  of  Gorges  had  been 
successful.  This  charter  provided  that  the  powers  of  the  corporation  should  be  the 
same  as  those  of  the  city  of  Bristol.  The  charter  of  that  city  then  in  force  was 
granted  in  1 581,  and  a  simple  inspection  of  its  provisions  will  show  why  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  was  unwilling,  both  during  the  Colony  and  under  the  Pro- 


lO  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

After  the  Revolution  municipal  charters  were  granted  by  the 
state  legislatures  with  gradually  increasing  freedom,  and  by  1825 
practically  all  the  larger  centers  of  population  were  being  admin- 
istered as  cities. 

Generally  speaking,  these  charters  were  of  the  same  type:  a 
mayor  without  executive  or  veto  power,  and  a  legislative  body 
consisting  of  one  or  two  chambers,  generally  styled  aldermen  and 
councilmen  respectively,  in  which  was  lodged  all  power  over  ap- 
propriations, expenditures,  and  the  executive  officers  of  the  city. 

Although  this  became  the  accepted  type  of  city  charter  in  this 
country  for  practically  one  hundred  years,  or  down  to  about  1880, 
it  was  not  American  in  origin,  and  it  was  not  based  upon  any  dis- 
tinctly American  theory  of  government.  It  was  simply  the  old 
English  machinery  for  the  administration  of  very  different  com- 
munities under  totally  different  political  conditions. 

It  was  urged,  notably  in  Boston  during  the  years  preceding  the 
adoption  of  the  charter  of  1822,  that  this  type  of  local  govern- 
ment was  justified  by  the  federal  system  on  the  one  hand,  and  on 
the  other  hand  by  the  New  England  town  system.  Neither  of 
these  inconsistent  claims  was  sound;  for  neither  of  these  forms  of 
government  had  in  reality  anything  in  common  with  the  type 
of  charter  imder  which  American  cities  were  governed  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  New  England  town 
was  in  its  inception  what  in  Greece  would  have  been  called  an 
oligarchy;  in  its  later  stages  it  became  more  democratic;  but  its 
powers  have  been  exercised  until  quite  recently  under  a  restricted 
suffrage,  and  have  at  all  times  been  extremely  limited.*  It  con- 
vince charter  to  allow  the  town  of  Boston  to  become  an  incorporated  city  of  the 
English  type.      See  Seyer's  Bristol  Charters,  pp.  169,  seq. 

The  hostility  of  the  New  England  authorities  to  this  type  of  charter  is  illustrated 
by  the  reasons  given  by  Governor  Winthrop  for  the  omission  of  Gorges'  province 
from  the  confederation  of  the  United  Colonies  of  New  England  in  1643.  He  said 
this  was  done  "  because  they  ran  a  diflferent  course  from  us  both  in  their  ministry 
and  civil  administration;  for  they  had  lately  made  Acomenticus  (a  poor  village)  a 
corporation  and  had  made  a  taylor  their  mayor.  "  —  Winthrop's  Journal,  ii,  p.  99, 
(Ed.  James  K.  Hosmer,  New  York,  1908). 

*  The  idea  so  widely  spread  by  the  fascinating  writings  of  De  Tocqueville,  and 
still  held  by  many  persons  (including  James  Bryce  in  The  American  Commonwealth) 
that  the  New  England  town  was  a  sort  of  popular  autocracy,  is  entirely  without 


GENERAL   TYPE  OF  CHARTER  II 

stituted  a  form  of  local  government  far  removed  from  that  of  the 
typical  American  city  with  its  extensive  powers,  its  elaborate 
office-holding  machinery,  its  double  legislative  body,  and  its 
irresponsible  committees.  The  analogy  of  the  federal  system  was 
equally  faulty;  for  the  main  features  of  this  governmental  scheme^ 
were  the  separation  of  the  executive  and  legislative  powers,  the 
vesting  of  the  former  in  a  single  officer  directly  responsible  to  the 
people  or  the  states  as  a  whole,  and  the  existence  of  a  check,  by 
way  of  executive  veto,  over  all  the  acts  of  the  legislative  branch. 
These,  the  essential  ideas  of  the  federal  constitution,  as  well  as  of 
most  of  the  state  governments  estabhshed  during  or  after  the 
Revolution,  were  entirely  absent  from  the  plan  for  city  govern- 
ment then  being  worked  out.  ^ 

When  surprise  is  shown  that  a  nation  which  could  devise  a  plan 
of  national  or  federal  government  so  admirable  as  ours  has  proved, 
on  the  whole,  could  also  fail  so  deplorably  in  the  administration  of 
cities,  it  may  be  suggested  that,  while  too  great  a  dependence  on 
forms  of  government  is  to  be  deprecated,  one  of  the  main  causes 
of  this  failure  was  the  adoption  of  a  type  of  charter  wholly  un- 
suited  to  the  administration  of  large  communities  upon  the  basis 
of  popular  suffrage. 

That  this  form  of  charter,  which  may  be  called  the  city  council 
committee  type,  proved  a  total  failure,  or  at  least  that  under  it 
the  worst  possible  government  resulted,  will  scarcely  be  denied; 
but  it  is  important  to  understand,  as  well  as  we  can,  the  precise 
reasons  for  its  failure  before  a  charter  can  be  drawn  under  which 
a  repetition  of  the  evils  resulting  from  this  type  may  be  avoided. 

These  reasons  are  to  be  deduced  from  the  investigations  and 
corrective  legislation  of  the  past  thirty  or  forty  years,  and  are  best 
studied  in  the  reports  of  the  numerous  official  commissions  and 
citizens'  committees  which  have  investigated  the  scandals  and 
extravagances  of  particular  cities.  These  reports  form  a  large 
literature,  practically  unknown  in  other  countries,  and  constitute 

foundation  either  in  history  or  in  law.  For  a  condensed  but,  so  far  as  it  goes, 
accurate  account  of  the  relations  between  a  Massachusetts  town  and  the  legislature 
from  the  earliest  days  to  the  present  time,  see  the  final  Report  of  the  Boston  Finance 
Commission,  1907-1909,  ii,  pp.  177-192. 


12  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

an  ever-increasing  monument  to  the  failure  of  American  pubKc 
law  in  the  branch  of  it  which  comes  nearest  to  the  citizen. 

As  the  object  of  this  book  is  to  suggest  practical  legislation, 
rather  than  to  present  a  history  of  municipal  government  in  the 
United  States,  the  reader  must  look  for  the  facts  and  data  bearing 
on  the  subject  in  the  legislation  and  reports  referred  to,  and  the 
writer  must  content  himself  with  a  short  summary  of  the  chief 
reasons  for  the  failure  of  American  city  government  under  the 
city  council  committee  system.^ 

There  were  too  many  elections  and  far  too  many  elective  offi- 
cials; the  members  of  the  city  council  were  in  great  part,  often 
in  their  entirety,  elected  by  wards  or  districts,  thus  encouraging 
the  domination  of  local  interests  in  appropriations  and  expendi- 
tures; there  was  no  effective  check  upon  the  appropriating  or 
borrowing  power  of  the  city  council;  the  executive  departments 
were  almost  wholly  in  charge  of  committees  of  the  city  council; 
the  terms  of  the  administrative  officers  were  too  short,  and  their 
tenure  too  uncertain;  the  entire  municipal  service,  including 
officers,  employees,  contracts  and  expenditures,  was  Uable  to  be 
regarded,  and  did  in  many  cases  come  to  be  regarded,  as  the  legiti- 

^  These  reports  are  unfortunately  difficult  of  access.  Among  the  more  recent 
and  instructive  the  following  may  be  noted: 

Boston  —  Charter  Revision  Reports  of  1875  ^.nd  1884. 

Finance  Commission  Reports,  1907-1914. 
Philadelphia  —  Report  on  Bullitt  Bill,  adopted  by  Legislature  1885,  and  by 

the  City  1887. 
Chicago  —  Charter  Convention;    Digest  of  City  Charters  and  other  docu- 
ments; Report  on  Charter — 1905. 
Ohio  Constitutional  Convention,  Proceedings,  191 2. 

New  York  —  1872.      "  Committee  of  Seventy  "  charter  and  former  charters, 
1830  to  1870. 
1885.    Tilden,  S.  J.  "  Municipal  Abuses,"  being  his  argument  in  the  trial 
of  W.  M.  Tweed  and  others,  —  See  The  Writings  and  Speeches 
of  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  i,  pp.  516-551  (2  vols.,  New  York,  1885). 
1896.    Report  of  Charter  Committee  to  the  Greater  New  York  Commis- 
sion. 
1900.    Charter  of  the  City  of  New  York  proposed  by  Charter  Revision 
Commission  appointed  by  the  Governor  in  1900,  adopted  1901. 
1904.     Consolidated  Charter  with  a  history  of  charter-making.     Brook- 
lyn, 1904. 
1907.    Charter  Revision  Commission.     Report  to  the  Governor  under 
ch.  600  of  Laws  of  1907. 


GENERAL  TYPE  OF  CHARTER  1 3 

mate  spoils  of  partisan  politics;  and  the  machinery  of  govern- 
ment was  so  complicated  that  it  was  difficult  to  fix  upon  any 
particular  individual  the  responsibility  for  extravagance,  ineffi- 
ciency, or  corruption. 

This  is  a  fairly  long  list  of  defects;  but  all  are  traceable,  in 
some  measure  at  least,  to  the  fact  that  the  forms  of  government 
devised  during  post-mediaeval  days  in  England  for  the  close 
corporations  estabhshed  by  royal  prerogative  as  cities  and 
boroughs,  were  adopted  by  the  people  of  this  country  for  the 
administration  of  their  local  affairs  under  universal  suffrage. 

The  system  was  certain  to  work  worse  in  large  places  than  in 
small  ones;  and  it  was  accordingly  in  the  larger  cities,  Brooklyn, 
New  York,  Baltimore  and  Boston,  that  corrective  measures  were 
first  demanded.  The  main  result  of  these  attempts  at  reform 
was  the  transfer  to  municipal  government  of  some  of  the  char- 
acteristic features  of  our  state  and  federal  system.  The  executive 
was  given  a  veto  power  over  the  acts  of  the  municipal  legislature; 
and  a  separation  of  the  legislative  from  the  executive  functions 
was  effected,  the  latter  being  sometimes  vested  in  officers  directly 
elected  by  the  people,  but  more  generally  concentrated  in  the 
mayor.  Other  devices,  such  as  the  creation  of  local  boards  and 
commissions,  sometimes  elective,  sometimes  appointed,  and  the 
administration  of  certain  departments  by  state  officials,  were 
adopted  in  various  states.  There  has  also  been  a  strong  tendency 
in  recent  charter  legislation  to  abolish  the  bicameral  legislature, 
and  to  substitute  a  relatively  small  body  with  members  elected 
at  large.  Longer  terms  for  the  elected  officials,  and  a  more  perma- 
nent tenure  for  the  employees  of  the  city,  as  well  as  some  system 
of  civil  service  selection,  are  also  features  of  the  best-considered 
modern  charters.  The  main  contribution  of  the  present  genera- 
tion to  the  art  of  mimicipal  administration  in  this  country  has, 
however,  been  the  development,  by  analogy  with  our  state  and 
federal  system,  of  what  may  be  termed  the  responsible  executive 
type  of  charter. 

The  past  few  years  have  also  witnessed  the  invention  and  spread 
of  a  scheme  of  municipal  government  by  which  the  entire  admin- 
istration, both  legislative  and  executive,  is  placed  in  the  hands 


14  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

of  a  small  body  or  commission,  elected  at  large. ^  This  is  the  third 
and  latest  type. 

Three  main  forms  or  types  of  city  charter  have  thus  been 
developed  in  this  country  —  the  city  council  committee  type, 
the  responsible  executive  type  and  the  commission  type.  The 
first  is  a  form  of  government  which  is  un-American  in  origin,  and 
has  proved  wholly  ineffectual  to  provide  good  administration 
under  the  conditions  which  obtain  in  this  country.  The  other 
two  are  distinctly  American  in  origin  and  theory,  and  are  now 
being  subjected  to  the  test  of  experience.  Innumerable  modifi- 
cations and  combinations  of  the  distinctive  features  of  these 
forms  of  charter  are  to  be  found;  but  the  central  idea  will  gen- 
erally be  seen  to  belong  to  one  of  these  three  types. ^ 

In  the  opinion  of  the  writer  the  best  results,  certainly  in  the 
case  of  large  cities  and  probably  in  the  case  of  cities  of  any  size, 
are  to  be  obtained  from  a  charter  drawn  along  the  fines  of  the 
responsible  executive  type,  with  such  modifications  as  the  experi- 

^  A  good  account  of  the  origin  of  the  commission  type  of  city  charter  will  be 
found  in  Commission  Government  in  American  Cities  by  E.  S.  Bradford  (New  York, 
1911). 

'  What  may  perhaps  be  termed  a  fourth  type  is  now  being  developed  as  a  modi- 
fication of  the  commission  plan.  The  entire  executive  business  of  the  city  is  placed 
in  charge  of  an  official,  styled  the  "  city  manager,"  appointed  by  the  commission- 
ers. This  office  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  compromise  between  that  of  the  mayor  in  the 
responsible  executive  type  of  American  city  charter,  and  the  burgomaster  of  a 
modern  Prussian  city.  Given  the  instability  of  poUtical  conditions  which  obtains 
in  this  country,  it  seems  difficult  to  believe  that  the  "  manager ''  of  an  American 
city  will  find  himself  m  a  position  of  greater  independence  than  a  mayor  elected 
under  a  charter  of  the  responsible  executive  type.  The  experiment  promises,  how- 
ever, to  be  an  interesting  one. 

Reference  should  possibly  be  made,  also,  to  what  has  been  termed  the  Newport 
type  of  charter,  so  called  after  the  Rhode  Island  city  which  has  adopted  it.  This 
plan  involves  the  creation  of  a  very  large  city  council,  which,  according  to  its  pro- 
moters, was  to  take  the  place  of  the  town  meeting  of  earlier  days.  The  natural 
effect  of  this  charter  as  drawn  was,  however,  merely  to  intensify  the  evils  of  the  city 
council  committee  type;  and,  so  far  as  the  writer  can  ascertain,  this  has  been  the 
practical  result.  A  scheme  could  undoubtedly  be  devised  for  the  application  of  the 
machinery  of  the  town  meeting  to  the  government  of  cities  which  would  be  better 
than  the  Newport  plan;  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  conditions  of  city  life 
and  politics  are  entirely  different  from  the  conditions  under  which  the  New  England 
system  of  town  government  was  developed.  It  is  probably  idle  to  exj>ect  from  any 
such  application,  however  ingenious,  the  sensible  and  economical  administration 
which  characterized  this  system  for  two  centuries  and  a  half  after  its  first  adoption. 


GENERAL   TYPE  OF  CHARTER  1$ 

enee  of  some  of  our  larger  cities  under  this  form  of  government 
suggests.^  ^^ 

Experience  has  shown  that  democracy  as  understood  and 
practiced  in  this  country  will  accomplish  more  and  make  fewer 
mistakes  in  city  government  if  the  number  of  elective  officers  is 
small  and  the  elections  few,  and  if  the  chief  responsibility  for 
legislative  and  executive  work  is  concentrated,  separately,  in  a 
small  number  of  persons  directly  responsible  to  the  community 
as  a  whole.  Experience  has  also  shown  that  many  of  the  worst 
forms  of  extravagance  and  fraud  can  effectually  be  prohibited 
by  intelligent  legislation.  The  type  of  charter  best  adapted  to 
the  case  would  therefore  seem  to  be  the  responsible  executive 
type  with  a  single  small  legislative  board  or  council,  with  such 
checks  and  balances  as  will  prevent  the  grosser  forms  of  extrava- 
gance and  corruption,  and  with  such  a  concentration  of  the  several 
powers  of  the  city  government  that  at  each  succeeding  election 
the  voters  may  have  no  difficulty  in  determining  who  is  and  who 
is  not  responsible  for  what  has  been  done  or  left  undone.  The 
commission  type  of  charter  presents  many  improvements  over  the 
old  city  council  committee  type  and,  if  drawn  with  a  view  to  prac- 
tical results,  is  a  far  better  type  of  government  than  the  former; 
but  it  fails  to  concentrate  the  intelligence  of  the  entire  electorate 
upon  the  filling  of  a  single  office,  and  it  omits  the  check  upon 
extravagant  appropriations  and  loans  which  is  furnished  by  the 
veto  power  of  the  mayor  under  a  charter  of  the  responsible  exec- 
utive type.2    The  conmiission  type  has  not  yet  been  substituted, 

1  The  first  edition  of  Dillon  on  Municipal  Corporations,  published  in  1872,  con- 
tains in  section  9  the  following: 

"  Experience  has  also  demonstrated  the  necessity  of  more  power  and  more 
responsibility  in  the  executive  head  of  our  mimicipal  institutions,"  and  a  suggestion 
that  the  mayor  be  given  a  veto  power  and  the  sole  power  of  appointment  and 
removal. 

The  fifth  edition  of  this  work,  published  in  191 1,  after  quoting  the  above  words 
from  the  first  edition,  refers  to  the  Brooklyn  charter  of  1882  as  "  based  in  its  reform 
features  essentially  upon  the  principles  suggested  in  the  text  ";  but  a  word  of  cau- 
tion is  added  that  the  experience  to  date  (191 1)  in  New  York  and  other  large  cities, 
while  it  has  not  shown  that  this  mode  of  municipal  administration  is  not  wise,  has 
also  not  fully  justified  the  expectations  concerning  its  remedial  eflScacy. 

'  In  some  of  the  commission  charters  the  mayor,  although  a  member  of  the  com- 
mission, has  an  independent  power  of  veto;  but  this  is  a  departure  from  what  is 


1 6  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

so  far  as  the  writer  can  learn,  for  a  charter  of  the  responsible  exec- 
utive type;  and  if  applied  to  our  larger  cities  the  opportunity  for 
misgovernment  through  the  divided  responsibility  for  the  man- 
agement of  the  executive  departments  would  be  great.  ^^ 

Moreover,  the  relative  merits  of  the  two  plans  from  the  stand- 
point of  affirmative  accomplishment  should  not  be  ignored.  The 
object  of  a  city  charter  should  be  not  only  to  prevent  abuses  of 
power,  but  to  secure  the  efficient  use  of  power,  so  far  as  this  can 
be  done  by  law;  that  is,  to  furnish  full  scope  and  opportunity  for 
good  men  when  they  are  elected,  as  well  as  effective  checks  upon 
bad  men.  When  the  subject  is  considered  not  merely  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  political  advantage  in  concentrati^ 
bility,  but  with  a  view  to  the  positive  administrative  value  o] 
system  which  will  give  sufficient  scope  of  action  to  a  strong  an( 
able  executive,  the  balance  of  advantage  seems  to  the  writer 
clearly  to  rest  with  the  responsible  executive  type  of  charter.  The 
criticism  sometimes  heard  that  the  responsible  executive  type  of 
charter  leaves  too  little  for  the  city  council  to  do  is,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  writer,  entirely  unfounded.  The  matters  over  which  the 
city  council  has  jurisdiction  are  the  most  important  of  all,  and  are 
sufficient  in  number  and  difficulty  to  occupy  all  the  time  and 
attention  which  its  members  can  be  expected  to  devote  to  munici- 
pal affairs,  unless  it  is  desired  that  the  city  council  should  be  filled 
with  persons  who  have  no  occupation  but  politics.^ 

The  first  of  the  bills  in  Part  II  is  therefore  drawn  along  the  lines 
of  the  strong  executive  type  of  charter  which  has  been  in  force  in 
some  of  the  larger  cities  of  this  country  for  a  generation  more  or 
less.  These  charters,  however,  except  perhaps  the  latest  Boston 
experiment,  are  all  more  or  less  of  a  compromise;  whereas  in  the 
plan  here  presented  the  provisions  for  fixing  the  responsibility  for 
the  conduct  of  the  executive  business  of  the  city  upon  the  mayor, 
and  for  vesting  concurrent  power  over  appropriations,  loans  and 
other  municipal  legislation  in  the  mayor  and  the  city  council,  have 
been  worked  out  on  what  the  writer  has  tried  to  make  a  strictly 

generally  regarded  as  the  central  idea  of  a  commission  charter,  and  has  not  been 
followed  in  the  drafts  in  Part  II  of  this  book. 
*  See  the  enumeration  of  the  powers  and  duties. 


•    ♦? 


\ 


GENERAL  TYPE  OF  CHARTER  1 7 


logical  and  consistent  plan.  In  the  main  the  document  resembles 
most  closely  the  present  charter  of  the  city  of  Boston,  or  rather 
would  resemble  that  charter  if  it  were  consolidated  in  a  single 
instrument;  but  there  are  many  important  departures  from  this 
precedent,  and  the  machinery  of  administration,  in  so  far  as  the 
number  and  functions  of  the  several  departments  are  concerned, 
is  better  suited  to  a  city  of  average  size  than  to  one  of  metropo- 
litan dimensions  and  interests. 

As  the  single,  small  commission  has  been  shown  to  be  a  great 
improvement  over  the  unwieldy,  ward-elected  city  councils  and 
irresponsible  committees  which  it  supplanted,  and  as  there  is  a 
ind,  at  least  from  the  smaller  cities;  for  this  type  of 
charter,  a  plan  will  be  found  in  Part  H  for  adapting  the  charter  to 
the  commission  scheme.  This  plan  includes  all  the  political  and 
administrative  features  of  the  first  draft,  so  far  as  these  are  not 
inconsistent  with  the  main  idea  of  government  by  commission,  but 
is  not  encumbered  with  the  untested  innovations  found  in  some 
charters  of  this  type.  There  are  several  distinct  kinds  of  com- 
mission charter  in  use,  and  in  selecting  that  best  adapted  to  the 
average  city  the  writer  has  kept  in  mind  the  general  views  of 
public  policy  outlined  in  this  and  the  succeeding  chapter.  The 
members  of  the  commission  are,  in  accordance  with  modern 
democratic  principles,  to  be  elected  by  the  voters,  not  appointed 
by  the  governor  or  legislature.^  The  executive  departments  are 
divided  among  the  different  members  of  the  commission  by  vote 
of  the  latter. 2     No  provision  is  made  for  the  initiative,  the  recall, 

1  Most  of  the  city  charters  granted  prior  to  the  Revolution  provided  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  mayor  by  the  governor  of  the  province.  So  also  the  charters 
granted  to  New  Orleans  in  1805  and  to  Detroit  in  1806.  In  1754  the  Maryland 
legislature  put  the  city  of  Baltimore  into  the  hands  of  a  commission  of  seven  men 
designated  in  the  act.  See  Fairlie's  Municipal  Administration  (New  York,  1906), 
ch.  V. 

In  more  recent  times  commissioners  appointed  by  the  governor  of  the  state  have 
been  placed  temporarily  in  charge  of  Galveston,  Texas  (1901),  Chelsea,  Mass., 
(1908)  and  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  (1911).  The  city  of  Washington  has  since  1876  been 
governed  under  an  act  of  Congress  by  commissioners  appointed  by  the  president. 

2  In  some  charters  each  member  of  the  commission  is  nominated  and  elected  for 
the  discharge  of  a  specific  part  of  the  administrative  work  of  the  city;  but  the  plan 
adopted  by  the  writer  is  the  more  common  and  seems  more  consistent  with  the 
fundamental  idea  of  a  commission  government. 


1 8  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

or  the  referendum  on  petition.  These  features,  found  in  most 
commission  charters  as  well  as  in  some  others,  are,  in  the  writer's 
view,  not  only  inconsistent  with  democracy  as  originated  and 
hitherto  practiced  in  this  country,  but  are  inherently  incapable  of 
application  to  municipal  administration.^  The  commission 
charters,  moreover,  are,  as  a  rule,  drawn  very  hastily  and  blindly, 
particularly  in  the  sections  relating  to  administrative  matters  — 
a  defect  which  may  account  for  their  frequent  failure  to  produce 
the  expected  improvement.  The  same  care  in  matters  of  detail 
and  form  has  been  given  in  this  book  to  the  commission  charter 
as  to  the  other  type;  and  the  drafts  contained  in  Part  II  will  be 
found  to  differ  only  in  those  particulars  in  which  a  divergence  was 
unavoidable. 

In  both  drafts  the  control  of  the  schools  is  vested  in  a  separate 
board,  consisting,  Hke  the  city  council  in  the  responsible  executive 
charter  and  the  commission  in  the  other  type,  of  a  small  single 
body  elected  at  large.  From  one  point  of  view,  the  schools  may 
be  regarded  as  an  ordinary  department  pjoperly  in  charge  of 
officials  named  by  the  responsible  executive  officers  of  the  city; 
but  as  an  independent  school  board  has  become  an  almost  uni- 
versal feature  of  municipal  government  in  this  country,  as  its 
members  are  often  elected  by  a  different  set  of  voters,  and  as  the 
system  has  worked  well  enough,  or  has  at  least  been  relatively 
free  from  the  evils  which  have  affected  the  regular  city  business, 
it  has  been  thought  best  to  include  in  both  bills  a  separate  elective 
school  committee. 

Other  matters  which  might  perhaps  have  been  considered  under 
the  heading  "  type  of  charter,"  will  be  discussed  in  chapters  III 
or  rV,  or  in  the  notes  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 

^  See  further  infra,  ch.  iii,  g,  pp.  28-33. 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Political  Features  of  a  City  Charter 

Among  what  would  generally  be  regarded  as  the  political  issues 
are  the  suffrage,  its  limits  and  restrictions,  the  number  of  elective 
officers,  the  frequency  of  elections,  the  machinery  of  nominations 
and  elections,  the  question  of  representation  by  districts  or  at 
large,  the  scope  of  the  taxing  and  borrowing  power,  the  control  of 
the  administration  by  popular  vote,  and  the  appointment  and 
tenure  of  the  administrative  officers  of  the  city. 

a.   The  suffrage         / 

As  already  indicated,  it  is  assumed  that  such  questions  of 
general  political  policy  as  the  basis  of  the  suffrage  will  be  deter- 
mined by  general  law  for  the  state  at  large.  The  suffrage  is 
usually  the  same  for  municipal  as  for  state  officers;  and  even 
where  the  electorate  for  school  committee  is  different  from  that 
for  the  other  municipal  officers,  this  is  usually  accomplished  by  a 
state  law  applicable  to  communities  of  all  sizes,  whether  incor- 
porated as  cities  or  not. 

Universal  suffrage,  modified  in  some  states  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  by  educational  qualifications,  may  be  assumed  to  be  the 
foundation  of  our  political  system,  municipal  as  well  as  state  and 
federal;  and  the  main  object  of  a  city  charter  must  be  to  formu- 
late a  scheme  of  administration  suited  to  this  fundamental  con- 
dition. Limitation  of  the  suffrage  for  municipal  purposes  to 
property-owners  was  a  common  feature  of  our  political  system 
in  the  early  days ;  but  these  are  long  since  passed.  At  the  present 
time  practically  all  such  restrictions,  as  well  as  any  provision  by 
which,  following  the  German  custom,  a  preponderating  influence 
at  the  polls  is  given  to  those  having  educational,  business  or  prop- 
erty qualifications,  may  be  assumed  to  be  impractical,  even  if 
desirable. 

19 


20  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

In  some  states  property-owners  are  still  given  a  controlling 
voice  in  the  determination  of  certain  questions,  such  as  the  raising 
of  money  by  loan.  Such  a  provision  seems  not  to  have  been 
deemed  inconsistent  with  democratic  principles;  but  it  has  gen- 
erally been  confined  to  the  smaller  communities.^ 

While  the  writer  would  be  far  from  denying  the  advantage, 
from  some  standpoints,  of  restrictions  on  the  electoral  franchise, 
and  is  inclined  to  the  view  that  something  of  the  sort  may  some 
day  become  a  political  possibility  as  a  reaction  against  the  unre- 
flecting radicaUsm  of  the  moment,  he  is  of  the  opinion  that,  as 
matters  stand,  both  extremes  should  be  avoided.  The  accom- 
panying bills,  therefore,  contain  no  provision  for  a  special  or 
limited  electorate,  either  for  the  municipal  officers  or  for  the 
decision  of  such  questions  as  may  be  submitted  to  popular  vote. 

n/        b.   Number  and  terms  of  elective  officers 

As  one  of  the  main  defects  of  the  older  charters  was  the  mid- 
tipHcity  of  elective  officials  and  the  frequency  with  which  they 
could  be  changed,  the  tendency  of  the  reforms  of  the  past  thirty 
years  has  been  to  reduce  their  number  and  to  lengthen  their 
tenure.  This  has  been  accomplished  by  substituting  for  the 
bicameral  city  council,  where  that  existed,  a  single  legislative 
body;  by  reducing  the  membership  of  this  board  so  that  only  two 
or  three  places  on  it  must  be  filled  each  year;  by  having  all  the 
higher  administrative  officers,  many  of  whom  were  formerly 
elected,  appointed  by  the  mayor;  and  by  giving  the  elective 
officers  terms  of  from  two  to  four  years  instead  of  requiring  the 
people,  as  was  too  often  the  case,  to  fill  each  office  every  year. 

*  See,  for  instance,  the  New  York  Village  Corporation  Law. 

The  payment  of  poll  or  other  personal  taxes  for  the  year  is,  in  some  states,  made 
a  prerequisite  to  voting.  In  Massachusetts  down  to  1892  the  voter  was  required  to 
pay  a  tax  of  one  dollar  before  he  could  be  registered.  The  effect  of  the  abolition 
of  this  requirement  was  to  increase  the  voting  list  of  the  city  of  Boston  by  about 

21  %,  and  to  reduce  the  percentage  of  property-owning  voters  to  about  20%.  At 
the  present  time  with  a  much  larger  number  of  registered  voters  the  proportion 
owning  real  or  personal  estate  has  fallen  to  less  than  17  %•  See  the  writer's  Vale- 
dictory Address  as  Mayor  of  Boston,  printed  in  Matthews,  The  City  Government  of 
Boston  (Boston,  1895),  p.  193,  and  the  Reports  of  the  Finance  Commission,  1907- 
1909,  ii,  pp.  233-239. 


POLITICAL  FEATURES  21 

If  the  experience  of  the  past  century  has  demonstrated  anything 
it  is  that,  in  order  to  secure  the  best  results  from  the  operation  of 
universal  suffrage  in  large  cities,  the  tenure  of  oflice  should  not 
be  too  short,  and  the  number  of  offices  to  be  filled  at  each  election 
should  be  few.  The  resulting  "  short  ballot,'*  as  it  has  been 
called,  may  be  regarded  as  the  keystone  of  an  effective  American 
city  charter.  ^ 

c.   Nominations  and  elections 

Until  relatively  recent  times  candidates  for  municipal  office  // 
were  nominated  by  party  caucuses  or  delegate  conventions,  or  ^ 
by  independent  groups  of  citizens;  and  at  the  election  each  party 
or  group  had  its  own  ballot.     The  introduction  of  the  Austrahan  <3 
system  of  voting  and  the  adoption  of  the  official  ballot  changed 
the  form  in  which  independent  candidacies  could  be  made  effec- 
tive, but  left  the  nomination  of  the  regular  party  candidates  to 
caucuses  and  conventions  as  before. 

Dissatisfaction  with  the  often  arbitrary  and  unfair  conduct  of 
these  party  gatherings  and  a  belief  that  they  were  frequently 
manipulated  to  secure  the  nomination  of  candidates  whom  the 
party  voters  would  not  themselves  select,  led  to  the  widespread 
adoption  of  the  party  primary.  This  system,  originally  a  volun- 
tary substitute  for  the  representative  convention,  was  then  in 
many  places  converted  by  law  into  an  official  primary  conducted 
as  a  regular  election;  and  in  this  shape  is  apphed  in  many  states 
to  municipal  nominations.  The  result  has  probably  been  to 
increase  the  power  of  the  regular  party  organizations,  but  to 
make  them  less  responsive  to  the  sober  judgment  of  the  party 
voters. 

A  further  innovation  was  then  tried  in  the  shape  of  the  official 
non-partisan  or  general  primary,  for  which  any  number  of  candi- 
dates could  be  nominated,  and  the  two  or  four  receiving  the  most 
votes  were  entitled  to  places  on  the  official  ballot  at  the  election, 
either  with  the  designation  they  had  at  the  primary,  or,  in  some 
jurisdictions,  without  designation.   This  system  is  in  common  use. 

While  the  system  of  representative  party  conventions  is 
imdoubtedly  open  to  abuse,  the  substitution  of  the  primary  has 
not,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  effected  any  substantial  improve- 


22  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

ment.  The  experience  of  the  southern  states,  where  the  state- 
wide party  primary  is  practically  the  election,  is  of  no  value  for 
communities,  north  or  south,  in  which  the  primary  system  means 
two  expensive  and  hotly-contested  elections.  The  evils  of  the 
primary,  except  when  applied  in  a  community  where  a  large 
majority  of  the  voters  expect  to  support  the  caucus  nominees 
anyway,  and  the  primary  thus  becomes  in  effect  the  election,  are 
different  from  those  which  grew  out  of  the  delegate  convention 
system,  but  they  are  none  the  less  serious.  One  of  them  is  the 
increased  difficulty  of  inducing  good  men  to  become  the  active 
solicitors  for  office  which  the  system  reqmres,  and  to  incur  the 
expense,  labor  and  annoyances  of  a  double  campaign.  In  the 
next  place,  in  the  open  caucus  or  convention  the  office  always 
could  in  theory  "  seek  the  man  ",  and  in  practice  frequently  did 
so;  whereas  under  the  primary  system  it  can  never  go  to  any  but 
a  voluntary  candidate.  A  more  radical  vice  of  the  primary  elec- 
tion system  is  that  under  it  all  opportunity  for  open  discussion  — 
the  great  advantage  of  the  old-fashioned  caucus  and  the  delegate 
convention,  as  also  of  the  town  meeting  —  is  entirely  lost,  and  the 
primary  becomes  the  mere  record  of  a  choice  based  on  motives  and 
arguments  which  have  not  been  subjected  to  the  test  of  debate, 
and  which  may  not  even  have  met  the  test  of  publicity.  At  its 
best  it  substitutes  the  generally  one-sided  and  often  meritricious 
support  of  newspaper  proprietors  and  writers  for  the  free  and  open 
face-to-face  discussion  of  men  and  measures,  without  which  no 
form  of  popular  government  has  ever  been  successful.  Finally, 
the  party  primary  makes  citizens'  movements  and  independent 
combinations  almost  impossible.  Generally  speaking  no  Demo- 
crat can  carry  a  Repubhcan  primary;  no  Republican  a  Demo- 
cratic primary;  and  all  opportunity  for  the  minority  party  to 
combine  with  the  dissatisfied  minority  of  the  majority  party  in 
a  non-partisan  nomination  is  gone. 

The  writer  regards  the  official  primary  election  as  in  practice 
one  of  the  least  desirable  of  the  poUtical  changes  of  the  recent 
past;  ^  and  in  the  case  of  municipal  pohtics  there  is  fortunately 

^  For  a  further  statement  of  his  views  on  this  subject,  see  the  final  Report  of  the 
Boston  Finance  Commission  of  1907- 1909,  ii,  pp.  194-196. 


POLITICAL  FEATURES  23 

no  need  to  consider  it  as  an  alternative  to  the  party  convention. 
If  the  party  caucus  and  delegate  convention  are  to  be  eliminated 
the  party  primary  may  as  well  go  too.  There  is  something  to  be 
gained  by  discarding  the  whole  system  of  nominating  municipal 
officers,  whether  by  convention  or  in  primaries,  on  the  Hues  of 
state  and  federal  party  politics;  and  if  party  nominations  are  to 
be  disregarded  there  is  no  need  of  a  dupHcate  election.  The 
primary  may  be  dispensed  with  altogether,  and  candidates  may 
be  allowed  to  quaHfy  by  merely  fiHng  nomination  papers.  This 
plan  eliminates  some  of  the  objections  to  the  primary  system, 
obviates  some  of  the  abuses  of  the  convention  system,  is  the 
simplest  in  operation,  and  seems  to  have  worked  fairly  well  in 
practice.  It  has  been  in  force  for  some  years  in  several  Massa- 
chusetts cities,  including  Boston,  as  well  as  in  many  other  states, 
and  is  the  system  adopted  for  the  charters  submitted  in  this 
book  as  that  on  the  whole  best  suited  to  present  requirements, 
if  nominations  by  party-delegate  conventions  are  to  be  dispensed 
with.. 

This  system  cannot  be  said  to  be  free  from  objection;  for  it 
confines  the  choice  of  the  voters  to  active  candidates  and  elimi- 
nates the  opportunity,  often  illusory  but  on  the  other  hand 
frequently  real  and  effective,  for  party  counsel,  debate  and  delib- 
eration. It  may  also  result  in  the  election  of  a  minority  candi- 
date; but  if  that  be  an  objection  it  may  be  obviated  better  by 
the  adoption  of  some  system  of  preferential  voting  than  by  the 
machinery  of  a  double  election.  There  is  only  a  single  campaign, 
and  the  number  of  signatures  necessary  for  a  nomination  may 
and  should  be  sufficient  to  indicate  a  reasonably  large  popular 
demand  for  the  candidate  in  question.  The  system  is  not  in- 
tended to  put  an  end  to  combined  or  party  action  in  municipal 
poHtics;  for  under  it  municipal  committees  of  every  kind,  or  the 
state  and  national  party  committees  if  they  wish,  can  wage  as 
energetic  a  campaign  as  they  please  in  behalf  of  the  nomination 
or  election  of  particular  candidates. 


24  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

d.   Election  by  districts  or  at  large 

While  in  some  of  our  larger  cities,  created  by  amalgamation 
out  of  distinct  and  physically  separate  communities,  district 
representation  within  the  city  council  may  be  necessary,  the  sys- 
tem would  seem  to  have  no  logical  appKcation  to  homogeneous 
communities,  large  or  small ;  and  its  almost  universal  use  was  one 
of  the  most  serious  defects  of  the  old  city  council  committee  style 
of  charter.  The  arbitrary  and  artificial  electoral  divisions  led 
inevitably  to  a  treatment  of  municipal  questions  on  narrow- 
minded,  petty  and  local  lines,  to  a  disregard  of  the  larger  needs  of 
the  city  as  a  whole,  and  to  expenditures  which  the  voters  as  a 
whole  would  never  sanction.  This  system  has  proved  in  the  long 
run  less  responsive  to  the  needs  and  desires  of  the  people  than  the 
system  of  elections  at  large,  besides  violating  the  fundamental 
democratic  principle  that  the  larger  the  constituency  the  better 
the  men  elected. 

A  further  objection  to  a  representation  based  on  districts  which 
are  purely  artificial  is  that  a  city  council  thus  constituted  is  sure 
sooner  or  later  to  become  a  body  of  men  representing  special 
interests  ostensibly  local  in  character,  but  in  essence  private, 
individual  or  corporate.  It  is  a  short  step  for  a  man  who  puts 
his  district  above  the  city  to  prefer  other  local  interests  to  the 
general  welfare;  the  interests,  for  instance,  of  individual  contrac- 
tors, ofiice-seekers  and  public  service  corporations. 

The  present  tendency  is  strongly  towards  the  nomination  and 
election  at  large  of  the  members  of  the  city  council  and  school 
committee,  and  this  principle  has  been  adopted  for  the  bills  sub- 
mitted in  this  book. 

e.  Proportional  representation  and  preferential  voting 

In  a  system  from  which  party  nominations  are  excluded  there 
is  of  course  no  room  for  minority  or  proportional  representation. 

As  to  the  various  systems  of  preferential  voting  which  have 
been  suggested  and  in  which  some  thoughtful  observers  see  great 
possibilities  for  the  improvement  of  municipal  government,  it  is 
to  be  regretted  that  we  are  left  practically  without  sufficient 


POLITICAL  FEATURES  25 

experience  to  guide  us  in  determining  whether  the  change  is  really 
a  desirable  one,  and  if  so,  which  of  the  different  systems  should 
be  adopted.^ 

One  difficulty,  as  the  writer  sees  it,  with  any  system  of  the  sort 
is  the  probability  that  in  a  short  while  the  voters  will  be  led  to 
ignore  the  preferential  privilege,  and  will  vote  only  for  the  candi- 
dates they  desire  to  elect.  The  plan  might  thus  prove  entirely 
unproductive  of  results.  On  the  other  hand  it  may  be  argued 
that  even  if  the  great  majority  should  refuse  to  vote  for  more  than 
one  candidate,  the  other  voters  should  be  allowed  to  do  so  if  they 
wish. 

In  advance  of  experience  the  writer  hesitates  to  recommend 
the  adoption  of  any  of  these  systems  either  for  the  responsible 
executive  or  for  the  commission  type  of  charter;  but  there  will  be 
found  in  the  Notes  an  alternative  draft,  embodying  this  principle, 
of  the  electoral  provisions  of  the  charter.^ 

f .   The  taxing  and  borrowing  power        V 

The  general  basis  of  taxation  is  assumed  to  be  a  matter  of  gen- 
eral policy  which  will  be  regulated  by  the  legislature  upon  uniform 
state-wide  lines.  The  demand  is  sometimes  heard  for  "  home 
rule  "  in  matters  of  taxation,  meaning  that  each  city  should  be 
given  the  right  to  levy  its  taxes  as  and  how  it  pleases;  but  a  change 
of  this  sort  would  require  in  most  if  not  in  all  the  states  a  con- 
stitutional amendment,  and  would  lead  to  confusion  and  inequal- 
ity greater  than  anything  now  known.  It  seems  incredible  that 
any  such  system  could  obtain  a  permanent  place  in  our  economic 
policy.  Progress  in  the  science  of  taxation  is  more  likely  to  pro- 
duce a  state-wide  uniformity  than  to  increase  the  inequalities  of 
the  present  system.^ 

The  assessment,  levy,  and  collection  of  taxes  are  matters  which 
fall  within  the  administrative  part  of  municipal  functions,  and 
will  be  considered  in  subsequent  chapters."* 

^  The  Grand  Junction  system  has  been  in  force  since  1909  only;  and  more  recent 
yet  is  the  experience  of  Pueblo,  Spokane,  Denver,  Cleveland,  Portland,  Colorado 
Springs,  Duluth,  and  other  cities. 

2  See  Part  III,  note  7.  ^  See  further  ch.  iv,  infra,  pp.  34-42. 

*■  See  ch.  vii,  infra,  pp.  58-67,  and  ch.  ix,  pp.  76-78. 


26  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

The  important  question  whether  the  city  should  have  an  unre- 
stricted power  to  raise  money  by  taxation  or  by  loan,  and  if  not, 
what  restrictions  should  be  imposed  upon  the  exercise  of  these 
powers,  would,  however,  be  regarded  by  most  persons  as  a  poHti- 
cal  question. 

In  most  of  the  states  the  borrowing  power  is  regulated  by  con- 
stitutional provisions  which  have  proved  very  effective  in  restrain- 
ing the  improvident  exercise  of  this  municipal  function.  Where 
there  is  no  constitutional  provision  on  the  subject  the  state  legis- 
lature has  generally  endeavored  to  limit  the  borrowing  power  of 
cities  either  by  general  law  or  for  each  city  in  its  charter  or  special 
laws.  In  fact,  as  towns  and  cities  have  in  American  pubUc  law 
no  inherent  power  to  borrow  money,  and  can/issiie  debt  only  to 
the  amount  and  for  the  purposes  authorized  oy  the  legislature,^ 
the  whole  subject  is  always  in  the  hands  of  that  body. 

Until  quite  recently,  however,  the  laws  regulating  this  question, 
whether  contained  in  general  statutes  or  in  special  charters  or 
amendments,  have  been  drawn  with  little  study  of  the  purposes 
and  periods  for  which  a  city  government  ought  to  be  permitted 
to  anticipate  the  taxing  power  of  its  successors;  and  where  the 
legislature  has  not  been  restrained  by  the  constitution  it  has  been 
altogether  too  willing  to  grant  special  exemptions  from  the  debt 
limit  laws.  Some  of  the  states  which  have  not  been  wise  enough 
to  place  a  constitutional  check  upon  the  creation  of  municipal 
liabiHties  have  consequently  witnessed  in  the  recent  past  a  most 
dangerous  expansion  of  the  public  debt.^     The  details  of  the  pro- 

1  This  is  what  the  writer  regards  as  the  better  view  of  a  somewhat  controverted 
question.  An  implied  right  to  borrow  money  even  if  it  exists  is,  however,  of  little 
practical  value;  for  municipal  corporations  can  only  borrow  money  in  considerable 
sums  by  means  of  long-term  bonds,  and  it  is  well  settled  that  they  have  no  inherent 
or  implied  right  to  issue  obligations  of  this  character.  See  the  general  discussion 
of  the  subject  in  Dillon  on  Municipal  Corporations,  sec.  278-293. 

2  In  1895  the  writer  made  an  investigation  into  the  effect  upon  municipal  debt 
expansion  of  constitutional  as  contrasted  with  statutory  debt  limits.  He  found 
that  between  1880  and  1890  the  net  municipal  indebtedness  of  the  sixteen  states 
which  had  no  debt  limit,  constitutional  or  statutory,  increased  22^%;  and  that  the 
increase  in  the  ten  states  with  a  statutory  debt  limit  was  i8f  %;  while  for  the  ten 
states  which  had  a  constitutional  debt  limit  there  was  a  decrease  of  i6^%.  In 
three  other  states  in  which  the  taxpayers  were  protected  by  a  constitutional  debt 


POLITICAL  FEATURES  27 

visions  which  a  city  charter  should  contain  on  this  fundamental 
subject  are  discussed  in  chapter  VII.  At  this  point  it  is  merely 
insisted  that  no  sophistry  about  home  rule  or  local  self-govern- 
ment can  justify  a  state  in  encouraging  its  geographical  subdivi- 
sions to  anticipate  the  taxes  of  succeeding  years  as  is  now  done  in 
Massachusetts  and  some  other  jurisdictions. 

So  far  as  the  amount  that  may  be  raised  by  taxation  goes,  our 
state  legislatures,  while  regulating  by  general  law  the  basis  of 
assessment  and  the  methods  of  collection,  have  generally  left  the 
cities  free  to  raise  all  the  money  they  choose  through  the  annual 
tax  levy.  In  some  states,  however,  it  has  been  thought  wise  to 
limit,  either  by  a  general  law  or  by  special  acts  for  particular 
cities,  the  amount  that  can  be  raised  each  year  from  taxes. 

The  system  of  statutory  restriction  cannot  be  said  to  have  been 
an  unqualified  success.  It  tends  to  make  the  city  authorities 
regard  the  legal  maximum  tax  levy  rather  as  a  grant  of  money  by 
the  state  than  as  a  limit  upon  the  right  to  compel  public  contribu- 
tions from  the  people;  it  has  encouraged  a  greater  use  of  the  bor- 
rowing power  than  would  otherwise  have  been  resorted  to;  and  it 
has  not  prevented  the  legislature  from  changing  the  limit  from 
time  to  time  in  the  case  of  particular  cities.^ 

The  writer  believes  that  there  should  be  either  no  statutory 
limit  for  the  tax  levy;  or  that,  if  there  is  such  a  limit,  provision 
should  be  made  for  an  extra  rate  in  any  year  in  which  the  voters 
at  a  special  election  so  decide;    and  that,  in  either  case,  the 

limit  during  only  a  part  of  the  ten-year  period,  there  had  been  a  decrease  of  4i%  %. 
The  paper  may  be  found  in  full  in  the  Boston  Journal  of  October  27,  1895. 

A  similar  comparison  made  for  the  period  which  has  elapsed  since  1890  would, 
it  is  believed,  furnish  equally  strong  testimony  to  the  wisdom  of  dealing  with  this 
subject  by  constitutional  limitation.  Figures  prepared  by  the  writer  in  1909  for  a 
legislative  committee  indicated  that  between  1890  and  1908  the  aggregate  net  muni- 
cipal debt  of  Massachusetts,  properly  computed,  had  increased  213%,  or  three  and 
one-half  times  as  much  as  the  valuation  of  property  for  taxation,  and  five  times  as 
fast  as  the  population. 

1  In  Massachusetts,  for  instance,  the  tax-limit  laws  of  1885  have  been  changed 
about  thirty  times  for  some  fifteen  different  cities.  For  the  experience  of  these 
cities  and  other  states  in  the  matter  of  statutory  municipal  tax  limits  see  the  report 
of  a  joint  special  committee  of  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  House  Document 
no.  1803  of  1913. 


28  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

borrowing  power  should  be  more  closely  defined  and  limited  than 
is  now  attempted  in  any  state.^ 

The  charters  in  Part  II  are  accordingly  drawn  with  alternative 
provisions  respecting  the  right  to  raise  money  by  taxation,  and 
with  such  limitations  on  the  borrowing  power  as,  according  to  the 
author's  experience,  should  be  applied  by  the  legislature  to  all 
cities,  whether  there  is  also  a  constitutional  limit  or  not. 

g.   Direct  legislation        ^ 

The  reference  to  popular  vote  of  certain  questions  of  municipal*" 
policy  has  always  been  a  feature  of  American  city  government,/ 
It  has  been  applied  quite  generally  to  the  question  whether  a  h 
town  or  village  shall  become  a  city;  generally  also  to  the  question 
whether  licenses  shall  be  granted  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating  *v ' 
liquors;  very  frequently  to  the  issue  of  loans  for  particular  pur-  *^» 
poses;  generally  to  the  establishment  of  public  gas,  water,  elec-  ^> 
trie  lighting  and  similar  undertakings;    and  often,  though  not 
generally,  to  amendments  to  the  charter  of  an  existing  city.  4 

The  writer  believes  that,  except  in  the  case  of  the  largest  cities, 
the  use  of  this  system  should  be  continued  for  the  decision  of  the 
license  question;  for  the  establishment  of  municipal  ownership 
enterprises;  as  a  check,  in  the  smaller  cities  at  least,  upon  loans 
voted  by  the  mayor  and  city  council;  and  for  certain  other  pur- 
poses as  appear  in  the  charter  drafts. ^  As  for  the  charter  itself  or 
its  amendments,  it  would  seem  better  for  the  legislature  to  fix 
uniform  conditions  for  the  administration  of  all  the  cities  within 
its  jurisdiction  than  to  submit  each  charter,  amendment,  or 
general  law  relating  to  municipal  government,  to  a  popular  vote 
in  each  city. 

As  regards  the  so-called  compulsory  referendum,  by  which  any 
order  of  the  city  council  must  upon  petition  be  submitted  to 
popular  vote,  the  writer  can  see  no  possibility  of  public  gain 

*  Except  perhaps  in  Massachusetts  under  the  legislation  of  1913.  See  ch.  719 
of  the  Acts  and  Resolves  of  that  year;  and  ch.  vii,  e,  f,  infra,  pp.  61-62,  and  art.  VII, 
sec.  8  and  9  of  the  charter  drafts. 

2  For  instance,  as  a  condition  precedent  to  a  large  tax  levy.  Recourse  to  the 
referendum  is  provided  by  the  charter  drafts  in  art.  II,  sec.  7;  art.  VII,  sec.  6;  art. 
X,  sec.  3,  and  in  the  alternative  suggestion  submitted  in  Part  III,  note  50. 


POLITICAL  FEATURES  29 

from  the  application  of  this  device  to  municipal  administration. 
Whatever  be  the  advantages  of  the  referendum  on  petition  as  a 
general  political  principle,  these  advantages  must  follow  from 
its  appHcation  to  such  questions  of  general  pubHc  poHcy  as  come 
before  the  legislature,  and  not  from  its  use  in  the  matters  which 
come  before  a  city  council,  ninety-nine  per  cent  of  which  are  not 
poKtical  questions  in  any  proper  sense. 

It  has  been  contended  that  a  peculiarly  appropriate  field  for  the 
appHcation  of  the  compulsory  referendum  was  the  granting  of 
franchises  by  the  mayor  and  city  council  to  public  service  com- 
panies; and  undoubtedly  a  referendum  on  such  votes  would  have 
prevented  some  conspicuous  instances  of  fraud.  It  is,  however, 
not  at  all  certain  that  this  would  always  be  the  case;  and,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  writer,  a  much  better  way  exists  for  fixing 
the  terms  of  corporation  franchises  than  by  giving  full  power 
to  the  local  authorities,  whether  subject  to  a  popular  veto  or 
not.i 

Still  more  inappropriate  would  the  referendum  on  petition 
prove  if  made  apphcable  to  orders  of  the  mayor  and  executive 
departments,  or  to  executive  orders  by  the  city  council  under  the 
commission  form  of  charter.  The  result  of  this  device,  as  appHed 
to  matters  of  ordinary  administration,  would  be  inefficiency  and 
chaos.  If  there  are  administrative  questions  upon  which  the 
voters  as  a  whole  have  an  intelligent  and  decided  opinion,  there 
is  no  reason  to  fear  that  their  views  will  be  disregarded  under  any 
system  of  representative  government  provided  the  terms  of  office 
are  not  too  long. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  referendum  on  petition  applies  with 
still  greater  force  to  the  so-called  "  initiative".  Both  schemes  are 
inconsistent  with  the  "  short  ballot",  and  it  has  been  demon- 
strated that  they  lead  to  the  adoption,  by  the  unreflecting  vote 
at  a  general  election,  of  measures  which  could  not  command  a 
majority  at  a  special  election.  The  result  is  not  a  true  expression 
of  the  popular  will,  but  an  unintelligent  and  unintended  exercise 
of  popular  power.  These  schemes  tend,  moreover,  to  impair  all 
sense  of  political  responsibility,  first  on  the  part  of  the  members 

^  See  ch.  v,  a,  infra,  pp.  43-44. 


30  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

of  the  legislature,  ultimately  on  the  part  of  the  voters  themselves. 
Repetition  breeds  indifference;  and  the  initiative,  in  particular, 
J  may  be  said  to  have  created  a  new  poKtical  disease,  a  sort  of 
electoral  fatigue,  which  through  the  repeated  votes  upon  a  given 
question  forced  by  a  small  percentage  of  the  voters  results  in  what 
is  virtually  a  government  by  minorities. 

If  a  true  expression  of  the  popular  will  at  a  given  time  is  to  be 
sought  by  the  referendum  or  initiative,  the  vote  must  be  taken  at 
a  special  election  ;i  but  such  elections  if  frequent  would  be  imprac- 
ticable except  in  the  smallest  communities,  and  the  whole  scheme 
is  therefore  of  no  value  except  as  a  means  of  securing  for  a  minor- 
ity of  the  people  the  passage  of  measures  which  the  majority  at  a 
fair  election  would  probably  reject.  And  if  applied  to  ordinary 
municipal  questions  these  new  devices  could  not  fail  to  bring 
about  a  state  of  administrative  paralysis. 

In  order  that  a  referendum  should  reflect,  even  approximately, 
the  popular  will  it  should  be  so  framed  as  to  necessitate  a  deliber- 
ate choice  on  the  part  of  the  voter.  Experience  with  the  referen- 
dum and  initiative  demonstrates  that  the  affirmative  of  any 
question  has  a  better  chance  to  be  carried  than  the  negative,  and 
that  the  more  obscure  the  form  in  which  the  question  appears 
upon  the  ballot  the  more  votes  it  is  likely  to  get.  Forms  of  ques- 
tion can  also  be  devised  which  while  apparently  describing  the 
proposition  fairly  give  it,  nevertheless,  a  certain  color  intended  to 
facilitate  its  acceptance  by  the  voters.  There  is  in  consequence 
a  great  deal  of  jocke3dng  in  our  state  legislatures  over  the  form  in 
which  questions  shall  appear  upon  the  ballot.  This  result  should 
be  deplored  as  much  by  the  advocates  of  the  referendum  as  by  its 
opponents;  for  it  must  be  clear  that  the  ultimate  fate  of  the 
referendum,  considered  as  a  matter  of  general  political  poHcy, 
depends  on  whether  the  people  are  satisfied  that  it  furnishes  them 
a  fair  means  of  registering  an  intelligent  vote  at  the  polls.  The 
referendum  will  certainly  disappear  from  our  public  policy  if  it  is 
used  for  the  purpose  of  obscuring  the  issue,  and  of  allowing  those 
who  know  nothing  about  the  subject  and  do  not  understand  what 
the  question  on  the  ballot  means,  to  outvote  the  citizens  who  have 

*  See  further  ch.  xi,  infra,  pp.  86-87. 


POLITICAL  FEATURES  3 1 

taken  the  pains  to  inform  themselves  and  know  what  they  want. 
This  defect,  the  writer  believes,  is  insuperable  and  a  fatal  objec- 
tion to  the  system;  but  the  evil  can,  nevertheless,  be  mitigated  by 
taking  the  greatest  pains  that  every  question  which  appears  upon 
the  ballot  shall  be  stated  as  clearly  and  fairly  as  the  nature  of  the 
case  permits.  The  means  to  secure  this  end  will,  of  course,  vary 
with  the  nature  of  the  question.  In  many  cases  putting  the 
question  in  alternative  form  (a  device  originating,  the  writer 
believes  in  Massachusetts  in  the  legislation  of  1909)  will  go  far 
towards  accomplishing  the  desired  object.  Many  issues  are,  of 
course,  incapable  of  being  stated  in  alternative  form.  In  other 
cases  the  alternative  is  involved  in  the  mere  statement  of  the 
question  itself;,  but  wherever  the  comprehension  of  the  voter 
will  be  aided  by  an  alternative  statement  of  the  issue  this  course 
should  be  adopted. 

It  being  impossible,  of  course,  to  prescribe  this  form  or  any 
other  special  form  of  question  for  all  cases,  the  writer  has  thought 
that  the  rights  of  the  voters  would  best  be  protected  in  the  case  of 
municipal  referenda  by  allowing  those  citizens  who  are  dis- 
satisfied with  the  way  in  which  the  legislative  body  has  ordered 
the  question  to  appear  upon  the  ballot,  to  appeal  to  the  court  for 
an  order  stating  how  the  question  shall  be  printed.  The  charters 
in  this  volume  contain  a  provision  to  this  effect  in  section  7  of 
article  II  (p.  109).  The  scheme  is  new,  the  writer  beUeves; 
but  he  can  see  no  reason  why  it  would  not  be  an  efficient  pro- 
tection against  the  one-sided  mode  of  statement  which  the 
promoters  of  a  popular  referendmn  are  apt  to  insist  upon. 
The  device  can  also  be  applied  to  constitutional  amendments 
and  other  state  referenda. 

Nor  has  the  writer  been  able  to  find  a  legitimate  place  in  his 
charter  drafts  for  the  latest  scheme  of  radical  pohtics,  a  recall  elec- 
tion upon  petition  for  the  elective  officers  of  the  city  government. 
The  thought  behind  this  idea  is  either  that  an  elective  officer  may 
occasionally  prove  so  delinquent  in  the  performance  of  his  duties 
as  to  render  it  necessary  to  prevent  him  from  completing  his  term; 
or  that  the  people  cannot  be  trusted  to  elect  reasonably  honest 
and  competent  officials.     The  first  of  these  dangers  can  be  met  by 


32  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

providing  terms  of  office  which  are  not  too  long,  and  by  the  adop- 
tion of  such  administrative  provisions  as  will  prevent  the  grosser 
forms  of  fraud  and  waste,  far  more  easily  than  by  the  irregular 
and  uncertain  operation  of  the  "  recall."  The  validity  of  the 
other  proposition  the  writer,  for  one,  is  unwilling  to  concede.  He 
prefers  to  assume  that  his  fellow-citizens  are  still  competent 
in  the  long  run  and  on  the  average  to  elect  representatives  who 
are  able  to  administer  honestly  a  properly-drawn  municipal 
charter. 

In  practice,  moreover,  as  soon  as  the  possibilities  of  the  ''recall " 
become  understood  by  the  professional  city  politicians  and  the 
special  interests,  it  can  hardly  fail  to  be  used  as  a  means  of  intim- 
idation and  blackmail.  One  set  of  men  will  furnish  the  political 
machinery,  another  set  the  money;  and  we  shall  have  a  govern- 
ment for  special  interests  and  classes  rather  than  a  government 
for  the  people  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  is  now  the  case.  We 
can  be  fairly  certain  that  in  the  long  run  the  "  recall "  would 
work  rather  as  a  practical  hindrance  to  good  government  than  as 
a  theoretic  obstacle  to  bad  government. 

The  truth,  as  the  writer  sees  it,  about  these  new  devices  is  that 
they  are  a  sort  of  reversion  to  a  type  of  democracy  which  proved 
a  total  failure  in  the  land  of  its  birth  two  thousand  years  ago; 
that  they  are  inconsistent  with  the  theory  of  representative 
democracy  which  was  invented  by  the  people  of  this  country 
for  the  management  of  their  public  affairs;  and  that  the  basic 
thought  underlying  the  advocacy  of  them  at  the  present  time  is 
either  an  unwarranted  disbelief  in  the  capacity  of  the  American 
people  to  elect  competent  and  faithful  officers  and  representatives, 
or  an  unreasoning  intolerance  of  the  dehberation  required  for  all 
permanently  useful  legislation.  Whether  this  be  true  or  not  of 
government  in  the  proper  sense,  the  writer  is  convinced  that  as 
apphed  to  matters  of  local  administration  the  adoption  of  the 
compulsory  referendum,  the  initiative  and  the  recall,  would  undo 
all  the  reforms  of  the  past  thirty  years,  and  would  make  good  city 
government  in  this  country  impossible.  The  effect  of  them,  if 
actually  made  use  of,  would  be  to  keep  the  people  voting  all  the 


POLITICAL  FEATURES  33 

time  about  somebody  or  something,  to  demoralize  the  public 
service,  and  to  increase  the  inefficiency  and  waste  which  are  now 
the  chief  evils  of  city  government.  Like  many  other  ideas  of 
foreign  origin,  they  are  wholly  unsuited  to  the  administration  of 
municipal  business  under  the  political  conditions  which  obtain 
in  this  country. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Relations  with  the  State 

The  adjustment  of  relations  between  the  city  and  the  state 
offers  a  most  promising  field  for  progress  in  the  science  of  muni- 
cipal government. 

While  American  cities  have  always  in  theory  been  regarded  as 
the  mere  creatures  of  the  state,  their  treatment  in  practice  has 
too  often  been  an  inconsistent  mixture  of  laissezfaire  and  factious 
interference.  They  have  been  permitted  on  the  one  hand  to 
administer  their  affairs  in  the  private  interest  of  local  politicians 
and  contractors  with  scandalous  results;  and  on  the  other  hand 
they  have  so  often  been  the  victims  of  ill-considered  interference 
by  the  state  legislature,  to  the  ultimate  benefit  of  state  politicians 
and  contractors,  that  very  extreme  views  of  the  benefits  of  munic- 
ipal home  rule  are  frequently  advanced. 

PoKtical  platforms  often  demand  for  towns  and  cities  an  inde- 
pendence of  the  legislature  which  would  amount  practically  to 
a  local  autonomy;  but  the  arguments  advanced  in  support  of 
this  idea  generally  rest  either  on  ignorance  of  town  and  city  his- 
tory in  this  country,  or  on  a  childlike  faith  in  the  value  of  a  phrase. 
The  serious  consequences  of  this  policy  of  disintegration,  if 
actually  carried  out,  can  readily  be  imagined;  and  the  experiment 
is  warranted  by  nothing  in  the  history  of  this  or  any  country.* 
While  there  are  perhaps  one  or  two  cities  in  the  country,  the  posi- 
tion, size  and  wealth  of  which  might  justify  their  erection  into  a 
sort  of  imperium  in  imperio,  the  general  adoption  of  such  a  policy 
and  its  application  to  all  cities  with  their  artificial  and  ever- 
changing  boundaries  would  inevitably  lead  to  inter-municipal 
jealousies  and  conflicts,  and  internally  to  methods  and  conditions 
worse  than  anything  yet  known. 

^  The  writer  can  find  nothing  in  the  experience  of  Missouri  and  California  with 
the  so-called  freeholder  charters  to  justify  the  policy  criticized  in  the  text. 

34 


RELATIONS  WITH  THE  STATE  35 

On  the  other  hand  to  transfer,  as  some  have  advocated,  to  the 
state  authorities  as  much  of  the  local  business  as  in  foreign 
countries  is  controlled  by  the  central  government  —  on  the  theory 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  state  to  see  that  its  several  divisions  and 
departments  are  properly  administered  —  would  be  a  violent 
and  impracticable  departure  from  the  theory  of  our  pubHc  law. 
Whatever  the  advantages  of  centraHzation  in  the  French  or 
German  government  may  be,  the  introduction  of  any  such  policy 
into  our  municipal  system  may  be  regarded  as  outside  the  range 
of  practical  discussion;  but  it  may  be  well  to  point  out  that  this 
policy  in  its  most  extreme  form  has  obtained  in  a  country  where 
the  suffrage  is  upon  a  basis  as  democratic  as  in  the  United  States, 
and  that  it  works  satisfactorily.  No  intelligent  and  well-informed 
Frenchman  would  think  of  advocating  ^'  home  rule  "  as  a  munic- 
ipal cure-all. 

It  ought  not  to  be  difficult  to  lay  out  between  these  extreme 
theories  a  via  media  which  will  serve  as  a  satisfactory  boundary 
between  the  functions  of  the  state  and  those  of  its  territorial 
subdivisions  in  the  matter  of  local  administration,  or  to  devise 
an  effective  and  useful  system  of  state  supervision  which  is  not 
inconsistent  with  our  poUtical  habits.  Some  things  at  least 
would  seem  to  be  reasonably  clear:  first,  that  a  matter  does  not 
become  one  of  merely  local  interest  because  it  affects  the  people 
of  some  particular  city,  for  it  may  also  affect  in  Hke  degree  the 
inhabitants  of  other  cities;  second,  that  in  this  country  cities  and 
towns  have,  both  historically  and  in  law,  except  where  the  con- 
stitution otherwise  provides,  no  independent  status,  but  are  the 
creatures  of  the  legislature  with  such  powers  and  such  powers 
only  as  that  body  may  confer;  third,  that  the  lawmaking  body 
is  responsible  for  the  municipal  administration  which  its  own  acts 
require  or  tolerate,  and  has  no  moral  right  to  pass  any  municipal 
law,  whether  optional  or  mandatory,  unless  it  is  itself  convinced 
that  the  measure  is  expedient;  and  fourth,  that  there  is  a  vast 
body  of  American  experience  and  precedent  to  aid  us  in  deter- 
mining the  respective  functions  in  this  country  of  the  city  and  the 
state. 


36  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

Assuming  that  such  matters  as  the  suffrage  and  the  other  fun- 
damental subjects  of  legislation  mentioned  in  chapter  I,  which 
affect  the  people  as  citizens  of  the  state  rather  than  as  residents 
of  some  particular  city,  will  be  treated  on  general  state- wide  lines, 
we  may  divide  the  proper  functions  of  the  state  in  purely  local 
matters  into  two  parts:  the  imposition  by  law  of  sound  methods  '' 
of  administration,  and  the  direct  supervision  or  control  of  the 
local  authorities  by  state  officials. 

a.   Compulsory  administrative  methods 

It  will  scarcely  be  claimed  that  there  is  any  legitimate  field  for 
the  application  of  the  principle  of  local  option  to  the  general  rules 
for  the  conduct  of  municipal  business.  The  appointment  and 
removal  of  officers  and  employees,  the  preparation  of  estimates, 
budgets  and  accounts,  the  appropriation  and  borrowing  of 
money,  the  letting  of  contracts,  the  purchase  of  supplies,  the 
control  of  the  public  funds  and  the  management  of  such  business 
enterprises  as  may  be  undertaken  by  the  city,  are  matters  which 
should  be  governed  for  all  cities  by  the  same  general  principles,\ 
if  sound  ones  can  be  discovered.  There  is  no  reason  for  any 
divergence  of  method  in  respect  to  any  of  these  matters,  and  it  is 
in  these  matters  that  the  most  good  can  be  accomplished  by  gen- 
eral laws  or  special  charters.  It  is  in  fact  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  the  sound  administration  of  municipal  business  in  these 
particulars  that  city  charters  and  general  municipal  laws  are  com- 
monly passed.  The  consideration  of  this  function  of  the  state 
government  involves,  therefore,  practically  the  whole  subject  of 
this  book,  and  there  is  no  need  to  repeat  or  simimarize  at  this 
point  the  writer's  views  as  to  the  proper  Hmits  for  legislative 
regulation  of  local  administrative  methods. 

b.  Direct  state  control 

The  writer  has  long  been  of  the  opinion,  however,  that  the 
state  should  exercise,  through  its  own  officers  and  boards,  a  direct 
control  over  such  local  functions  as  experience  shows  can  only  be 
discharged,  or  can  best  be  discharged,  under  the  direct  super- 
vision of  state  officials.     These  matters  are  not  numerous,  and 


RELATIONS  WITH  THE  STATE  37 

they  do  not  include,  at  least  according  to  the  writer's  view,  that 
department  of  municipal  administration  which  has  so  frequently 
been  placed  under  the  direct  control  of  the  state,  —  the  police 
force.  ^  They  are  confined  to  the  important  subjects  of  loans, 
civil  service  appointments,  public  investigations,  the  regulation 
of  public  service  companies,  and  the  supervision  of  municipal 
business  enterprises.  The  first  three  topics  are  considered  in  this 
chapter,  the  fourth  in  chapter  V,  and  the  last  in  chapter  XL 

(i)   Loans 

First  and  foremost  lies  the^question  of  municipal  debt.  That 
this  subject  presents  a  legitimate  and  necessary  field  for  state 
supervision  has  been  recognized  by  all  the  states  in  the  form  of 
frequent  acts  of  the  legislature,  permissive  or  restrictive;  and  by 
most  of  the  states  through  constitutional  provisions  or  amend- 
ments. A  large  part  of  the  time  of  our  state  legislatures  is  given 
up  to  a  consideration  of  the  requests  of  the  various  cities  for  leave 
to  borrow  money;  but  these  requests  are  passed  upon  in  a  casual, 
unscientific  way  which  has  been  ineffective  to  check  the  indefinite 
expansion  of  .our^unicipal  debt. 

What  is  needed  in  the  matter  of  loans,  according  to  the  writer's 
observations,  is  not  only  a  constitutional  limit  upon  the  amount 
of  money  which  the  city  can  borrow,  together  with  such'statutory 
restraints  upon  the  borrowing  power  as  experience  can  suggest;  ^ 
but  also,  what  would  perhaps  be  more  useful  than  either,  a  per- 
manent state  board  which,  in  imitation  of  the  EngHsh  system, 
should  have  a  veto  power  over  all  municipal  loans.  The  charters 
presented  in  Part  II  provide,  in  accordance  with  the  present 
tendency  of  legislation,  for  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  city  council, 
gi'^  the  mayor  an  absolute  veto,  and  contain  other  useful  restric- 
tions upon  the  borrowing  power;  but  even  these  provisions  will 
frequently  be  found  inadequate  to  protect  the  rights  of  succeeding 
generations.      Something  more,  in  the  nature  of  direct  state 

1  In  Baltimore  in  i860;  Chicago  1861;  Detroit  1865;  Boston  1885;  Fall  River 
1894;  and  many  other  places.  Other  mimicipal  activities  have  been  treated 
similarly,  as  the  New  York  city  parks  in  1 85  7. 

2  See  ch.  vii,  m/ra,  p.  62. 


38  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS    ^ 

supervision,  seems  to  be  needed.  There  is,  moreover,  a  general 
similarity  in  the  purposes  for  which  different  cities  desire  to  bor- 
row money,  and  the  establishment  of  a  state  board  having  juris- 
diction over  all  such  loans  would  lead  to  greater  uniformity  of 
practice,  as  well  as  put  an  end  to  some  of  the  more  objectionable 
methods  of  borrowing  now  in  use.  If  an  absolute  veto  were 
thought  to  be  too  much  of  a  restraint  upon  the  local  authorities, 
the  state  board  could  be  vested  with  what  is  termed  a  suspensive 
veto  —  a  device  which  would,  we  think,  work  in  practice  nearly 
as  well  as  an  absolute  veto.^ 

(2)  The  civil  service 

The  next  most  important  fimction  of  local  administration 
which  ought,  we  think,  to  be  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the 
state  is  the  municipal  civil  service.  That  all  but  the  higher 
administrative  officers  should  be  selected  upon  the  basis  of  merit 
rather  than  of  partisan  service  or  individual  preference  may  be 
accepted  as  an  essential  requirement  of  sound  municipal  admin- 
istration in  this  country;  but  opinions  and  systems  differ,  both 
as  to  the  basis  of  selection  and  as  to  the  body  charged  with  the 
administration  of  the  system. 

A  careful  study  of  the  various  civil  service  systems  now  in 
force,  and  a  fairly  long  personal  acquaintance  with  the  subject, 
have  satisfied  the  writer  that  the  municipal  service  should  be 
under  the  supervision  of  the  same  board  that  has  charge  of  the 
state  service.  The  value  of  any  civil  service  system  depends  not 
so  much  upon  the  powers  of  the  supervising  board  as  upon  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  exercised;  and  while  partisanship  may 
find  its  way  into  a  state  board,  it  is  in  the  long  run  less  likely  to 
affect  the  operations  of  such  a  board  than  if  the  commission  is  a 
local  body  constantly  subject  to  the  pressure  of  local  candidates 
and  politicians.  As  to  uniformity  in  the  rules,  high  standards 
in  the  requirements,  and  the  other  elements  that  go  to  make  up 
the  efficiency  of  a  civil  service  system,  the  advantage  in  the 
end  must  also  be  with  the  state  board.      Finally,  a  board  ap- 

1  See  Part  III,  note  49,  for  a  draft  of  a  clause  intended  to  accomplish  this  pur- 
pose. 


RELATIONS  WITH   THE  STATE  39 

pointed  by  the  local  elective  officers  must  inevitably  tend  to 
reflect  more  or  less  the  views  and  political  interests  of  the  persons 
clothed  with  the  appointing  power  —  a  situation  generally,  if  not 
always,  fatal  to  the  genuine  selection  of  employees  upon  the  basis 
of  merit.  It  may  be  asserted  without  hesitation  that  there  are 
few,  if  any,  successful  civil  service  commissions  appointed  by  the 
local  authorities.  The  charters  drafted  in  this  book  assume  the 
existence  of  a  state  civil  service  board. 

As  to  the  methods  of  selection,  those  adopted  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts Civil  Service  Commission  (one  of  the  first  of  such  bodies 
to  be  established  in  the  country  and  one  of  the  best  of  those  exist- 
ing at  the  present  time)  have  been  followed  in  the  charter  drafts, 
so  far  as  the  subordinate  employees  are  concerned.  For  the 
higher  municipal  officers  a  different  plan  has  been  adopted.  For 
such  officials  the  scheme  of  stated  examinations  with  resulting 
lists  of  eligibles  is  not  a  plan  calculated  to  secure  applications 
from  the  kind  of  men  who  ought  to  fill  these  offices.  Two  pre- 
cedents may  be  found  in  this  country  for  the  treatment  of  these 
cases:  that  adopted  in  the  Boston  charter  amendments  of  1909, 
under  which  no  appointment  by  the  mayor  becomes  operative 
until  the  civil  service  commission  has  investigated  the  qualifica- 
tions of  the  applicant  and  approved  them  as  sufficient;  and  that 
which  has  been  termed  the  Kansas  City  system.^ 

The  plan  recommended  by  the  author  for  general  adoption  and 
inserted  in  the  charter  drafts  is  a  modification  of  the  Kansas  City 
plan.  Under  it  the  higher  administrative  officers  are  divided 
into  two  classes.  The  first  consists  of  a  few  persons  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  mayor  without  reference  to  the  civil  service  com- 
mission, to  take  general  charge  of  what  may  be  regarded  as  the 
departments  in  which  the  policy  of  the  mayor  for  the  time  being 
may  properly  be  felt.  The  other  consists  of  the  remaining  higher 
officials,  whose  work  is  generally  of  a  more  technical  character. 
These  are  to  be  selected  in  the  first  instance  by  the  civil  service 
commission  as  the  result  of  an  examination  and  report  made  by  a 
committee  of  experts  designated  by  that  board  for  each  occasion. 
The  writer  presents  this  plan  in  the  drafts  in  Part  II  as  the  one 

^  See  First  Annual  Report  of  Kansas  City  Civil  Service  Commission,  1911. 


40  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

which,  in  his  opinion,  is  on  the  whole  the  most  likely  to  secure 
the  permanent  occupation  of  the  chief  administrative  ofi&ces  by 
competent  persons.^  The  general  control  of  the  mayor  over 
these  ofl&cers  is  sufficiently  provided  for  by  vesting  in  him  the 
absolute  power  of  removal. 

Those  who  prefer  the  Boston  plan  are  referred  to  the  act 
establishing  it.^ 

Possibly  a  better  plan  than  either  of  these  may  be  devised. 
The  important  points  to  bear  in  mind  are  that  tte  responsible 
executive  type  of  charter  does  not  necessarily  involve  unrestricted 
power  in  the  mayor  over  the  appointment  of  all  the  higher  offi- 
cials; and  that,  to  the  extent  that  this  power  is  restricted,  the 
coordinate  or  confirming  power  should  not  be  vested,  as  under 
the  old  type  of  charter,  in  a  board  of  aldermen  or  other  local  body, 
whether  elective  or  appointed,  but  in  a  permanent  state  board. 

(3)  Investigations 

The  frequent  necessity  for  the  investigation  of  municipal  mal- 
administration by  city,  state,  and  non-official  bodies  is  sufficient 
proof  of  the  unsatisfactory  character  of  our  municipal  service; 
and  it  furnishes  a  suggestion  which,  if  worked  out  on  safe  lines, 
should  prove  an  effective  means  both  of  preventing  bad  methods 
and  of  encouraging  good  ones. 

In  many  of  the  states,  city  councils  and  their  committees  are 
authorized  by  law  to  investigate  charges  of  fraud  and  other  forms 
of  official  misconduct;  but  such  investigations  are  necessarily 
either  in  the  hands  of  the  parties  to  be  investigated  or  their  poli- 
tical friends,  or  in  the  hands  of  their  political  opponents,  and  are 
thus  pretty  certain  to  be  conducted  for  partisan  ends.  More- 
over, the  constitutional  authority  of  such  bodies  to  compel  the 
disclosure  of  evidence  and  the  production  of  books  from  persons 
not  connected  with  the  city  government  is  probably  narrower 
than  is  comimonly  supposed. 

*  See  also  ch.  vi,  infra,  p.  53. 

'  Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1909,  ch.  486,  sec.  9-1 1.  As  to  the  working 
of  this  plan  during  the  past  four  years  see  Report  of  the  Boston  Finance  Commission, 
January,  1914,  pp.  17-19. 


RELATIONS  WITH  THE  STATE  4 1 

Investigations  by  non-official  local  bodies  or  self-appointed 
committees  are  likely  to  be  still  less  effective  in  securing  a  dis- 
closure of  the  facts. ^  The  examination  of  witnesses  at  the  bar 
of  either  branch  of  the  state  legislature  is  generally  impracticable. 
The  investigating  power  of  the  legislature  must  practically  be 
exercised  by  committees  or  boards  appointed  for  the  purpose, 
endowed  by  law  with  the  necessary  authority  and  instructed  to 
make  reports  which  can  be  used  as  a  basis  for  legislation  on  the 
subject.  Investigations  of  this  sort  by  special  committees  of  the 
legislature  have  been  common  enough;  but  generally  the  com- 
mittees are  appointed  as  the  outcome  of  a  poHtical  contest  and 
often  too  late  for  the  best  results. 

In  order  that  such  investigations  should  be  fair  in  methods  and 
effective  in  results  they  must  be  intrusted  to  persons  who  are  not 
concerned  in  the  matters  to  be  investigated,  who  are  competent 
to  conduct  the  inquiry,  and  who  obtain  their  authority  directly 
from  the  legislature.  A  permanent  state  board  with  authority 
to  conduct  investigations  of  this  sort  as  and  when  requested  by 
the  local  authorities,  or  by  a  sufficient  number  of  citizens,  would 
have  many  advantages,  particularly  if  the  same  board  were  given 
the  control  over  the  issue  of  municipal  bonds  which  it  has  been 
suggested  should  be  vested  in  some  state  authority.  The  exis- 
tence of  such  a  board  would  also  be  of  the  greatest  use  in  the 
development  of  a  sound  theory  and  practice  in  the  art  of  munici- 
pal administration. 

In  the  absence  of  such  a  board  a  special  commission  or  com- 
mittee must  be  appointed  in  each  instance.  If  upon  application 
of  the  local  authorities,  or  of  a  sufficient  percentage  of  the  citizens, 
the  governor  of  the  state  could  appoint  a  committee  which  should 
have  full  powers  of  investigation  and  which  should  report  its 
findings  both  to  the  city  government  and  the  state  legislature,  an 
investigating  machinery  would  be  created  which  would  be  free 
from  some  of  the  objections  to  such  work  when  conducted  by 

^  Investigations  by  the  district  attorney  or  the  grand  jury  have  sometimes  been 
effective;  but  their  scope  is  practically  confined  to  alleged  violations  of  the  criminal 
law.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  the  municipal  misconduct  which  requires  investi- 
gation, exposure  and  correction  is  not  criminal  in  the  legal  sense. 


42  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

legislative  or  municipal  committees,  and  which  in  the  long  run 
could  not  fail  to  be  productive  of  beneficial  results. 

Such  a  provision  may  be  put  into  any  city  charter,  or  engrafted 
by  general  law  on  all  city  governments;  and  a  draft  thereof  will 
be  found  in  Part  II,  section  3,  article  XI. 

(4)  Street  franchises  and  (5)  Municipal  ownership 

As  already  stated,  the  franchises  granted  by  the  city  to  public 
service  corporations  and  the  operation  by  the  city  of  commercial 
enterprises  should,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  be  placed,  to  a  certain 
extent,  under  the  direct  supervision  or  control  of  state  ojQEicials. 
This  subject  and  the  related  one  of  municipal  ownership  are,  how- 
ever, so  complicated  as  to  make  it  desirable  that  a  separate 
chapter  should  be  devoted  to  them. 


CHAPTER  V 

Relations  with  Public  Service  Corporations 

Probably  no  questions  of  municipal  administration  in  this 
country  have  led  to  more  dissatisfaction  and  litigation  than  those 
connected  with  the  regulation  of  the  quasi-public  corporations 
which  are  operated  under  special  franchises  for  the  use  of  the 
public  ways.  The  opportunities,  both  official  and  professional, 
which  the  writer  has  had  to  study  this  subject  as  appKed  to  gas, 
water,  electric  light  and  power,  and  street  railway  companies  in 
this  country  and  in  Europe,  have  led  him  to  the  following  con- 
clusions. 

a.   The  terms  of  the  franchise 

Franchises  which  are  exclusive,  or  terminable  by  lapse  of  time, 
or  upon  purchase  of  the  physical  plant  alone,  are  in  the  long  run 
obnoxious  to  the  pubHc  interest.  If  exclusive  they  may  deprive 
the  community  of  the  benefit  of  competition  and  improvements. 
If  non-exclusive  but  terminable  on  a  day  certain  the  public 
advantage  is  likely  to  be  nominal  rather  than  real;  for,  as  has  been 
amply  demonstrated  by  the  experience  of  England,  the  necessary 
effect  of  such  a  Hmitation  is  to  deter  investment  in  an  enterprise 
which  may  have  to  be  wound  up  before  the  expected  profits  have 
been  realized.  Options  of  purchase  upon  the  ordinary  terms  of 
eminent  domain  are  not  open  to  this  objection;  but  such  provi- 
sions, while  common  in  this  country,  are  a  mere  specification  of 
what  the  law  is  anyway,  and  are  therefore  unnecessary.  Very' 
long  terms  may  also  give  the  pubHc  the  benefit  of  a  tenure 
which  invites  the  investment  of  capital  as  required. 

The  best  form  of  franchise,  so  far  as  length  and  terms  of  pur- 
chase go,  is,  in  the  writer's  view,  the  so-called  indeterminable 
franchise;  that  is,  a  right  to  use  the  street  which  is  terminable 
at  any  time  by  the  legislature  for  such  cause  as  it  sees  fit,  and 
which,  together  with  the  company's  physical  property,  may  at 
any  time,  with  the  sanction  of  the  legislature,  be  taken  over 
through  the  exercise  of  the  power  of  eminent  domain.     This  is 

43 


44  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

the  Massachusetts  system,  and  it  has  worked  fairly  well  from  the 
standpoint  of  promoter,  investor  and  customer.  Under  this 
plan  the  company  either  continues  to  enjoy  its  investment, 
including  the  franchise  granted  by  the  pubHc;  or  parts  with  its 
property  and  franchises  for  their  full  commercial  value  at  the 
time  of  expropriation;  or  loses  its  franchise  but  retains  its  prop- 
erty. Experience  has  shown  that  this  last  alternative,  while  a 
salutary  check  upon  the  arrogance  sometimes  shown  by  corpora- 
tions in  their  deaHngs  with  the  public,  is  so  seldom  invoked  in 
practice  without  some  provision  for  compulsory  purchase  that 
well-managed  companies  have  generally  had  no  difficulty  in 
procuring  all  the  capital  required  by  the  growth  of  the  community 
and  the  progress  of  invention. 

As  to  the  pubHc  authorities  in  whom  the  power  to  grant  or 
revoke  the  franchise  should  be  vested,  the  main  franchise  or 
right  emanates,  in  the  Massachusetts  system,  exclusively  from 
the  legislature,  and  this  is  the  only  body  which  can  revoke  it. 
Minor  matters,  such  as  locations  in  particular  streets,  are  often, 
both  for  the  grant  and  the  revocation,  made  subject  to  the  assent 
of  the  local  city  council,  or  where  this  has  two  branches  to  the 
assent  of  the  board  of  aldermen;  but  in  both  cases,  that  is,  in 
the  case  of  the  original  application  and  in  the  case  of  revocation, 
the  company  has  an  appeal  from  the  local  authorities  to  a  state 
board,  whose  decision  is  final.  In  this  state,  as  in  some  others, 
the  public  ways  are  regarded  in  law  as  laid  out  for  the  benefit  of 
the  people  of  the  state  as  a  whole,  and  the  towns  and  cities 
through  which  the  streets  pass,  although  they  generally  provide 
the  money  for  both  laying  out  and  maintenance,  are  held  to  have 
no  proprietary  interest  in  them,  and  no  control  over  them  except 
such  as  may  be  expressly  delegated  by  the  legislature.  This 
principle  of  law  has,  with  the  aid  of  certain  statutes,  resulted  in 
the  system  briefly  described  above,  which  has  worked  so  well  in 
comparison  with  other  schemes  of  street  and  franchise  law 
adopted  in  other  states,  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  it  is 
worthy  of  general  adoption. 

As  these  matters  are,  by  assumption,  to  be  regulated  by 
general  law  they  require  no  mention  in  a  city  charter. 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS  45 

b.   The  regulation  of  rates  and  service 

All  persons  and  corporations  whose  business  is  charged  with 
a  public  use  are  subject  to  regulation  by  the  state  legislature  both 
as  to  rates  and  service.  This  power  is  sometimes  exercised 
directly  by  the  legislature;  sometimes  through  a  delegated  power 
to  the  local  authorities;  and,  according  to  recent  and  better 
practice,  by  state  boards.  The  advantages  of  the  last-mentioned 
plan  are  overwhelming,  both  as  to  fairness,  reasonableness  and 
uniformity  of  action;  and  therefore  a  city  charter  need  contain 
no  reference  to  the  subject. 

c.  Capitalization 

The  capitalization  of  public  service  companies  is  a  matter  of 
vital  interest  to  the  public.  For  a  long  time  in  England  and 
now  generally  in  the  United  States,  it  has  been  under  the  control 
of  state  boards.  The  object  of  such  control  should  be  to  see  that 
stocks,  bonds  and  other  obligations  are  issued  only  to  the  extent 
reasonably  required  for  the  business,  so  that  approximately  the 
aggregate  outstanding  capitalization  represents  the  actual  amoimt 
of  cash  raised  by  the  stockholders  in  stock,  bonds  or  notes  and  put 
into  the  company's  plant  and  business.  It  has  been  doubted 
whether  the  modification  of  this  system  by  which  new  issues  of 
stock  must  be  sold  at  auction,  as  in  England,  or  distributed  among 
the  stockholders  at  market  value,  as  in  Massachusetts,  is  in  the 
pubHc  interest;  but  it  has  saved  many  a  corporation  from 
disaster.^ 

^  A  conspicuous  illustration  of  the  benefit  of  the  Massachusetts  system  is  pre- 
sented by  the  recent  financial  history  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford 
Railroad  Company.  The  decline  in  the  value  of  the  stock  of  this  corporation  to  less 
than  par  and  the  suspension  of  dividends  in  1913  would  have  been  avoided  if  the 
company,  a  bi-state  corporation,  had  issued  its  securities  under  the  Massachusetts 
law  rather  than  under  the  Connecticut  statutes.  The  sale  at  market  value  of  all 
the  stock  issued  between  1893  (when  the  market- value  law  was  passed  in  Massachu- 
setts) and  191 1  would  have  brought  $60,000,000  more  into  the  company's  treasury 
than  was  in  fact  realized  from  the  stock. 

On  the  other  hand  under  the  Massachusetts  law  the  companies  have  often  been 
forced  to  issue  large  quantities  of  stock  at  prices  far  in  excess  of  intrinsic  value. 
This  is  because  market  value  was  construed  to  mean  the  market  price  as  determined 


46  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

This  subject  also  would  seem  to  be  a  matter  for  general  legisla- 
tion rather  than  for  a  municipal  charter. 

d.   Limitation  of  profits 

The  limitation  of  profits  earned  in  conducting  a  public  fran- 
chise business  has  been  a  frequent  field  for  experimentation  both 
in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  The  fixed  maximum  dividend 
is  perhaps  the  earliest  device,  but,  unless  the  figure  is  placed  very 
high,  works  as  a  bar  to  progressive  management.  A  payment  of 
a  part  of  the  profits,  gross  or  net,  to  the  state  or  local  authorities 
is  sometimes  provided  in  express  terms;  and  the  same  result  is 
often  secured  indirectly  through  special  contracts  for  municipal 
service.  It  is  very  difficult,  however,  to  fix  a  percentage  of  gross 
receipts  which  will  be  fair  to  the  company  at  the  outset,  and  fair 
to  the  community  later  on  if  the  business  when  developed  proves 
the  franchise  to  be  of  great  value;  and  a  percentage  of  net  profits 
is  dependent  upon  so  many  uncertain  factors  as  to  be  a  cause  of 
disputes  rather  than  of  income. 

The  best  profit-sharing  plan  known  to  the  writer  is  that  by 
which  the  part  received  by  the  municipality  or  the  state  (prefer- 
ably the  former  if  it  pays  for  the  cost  and  upkeep  of  the  streets 
used)  is  dependent  on  the  dividend  paid  to  the  stockholders.  If 
the  amount  of  capital  stock  and  bonds  is  under  pubHc  supervision 
and  the  stock  must  be  issued  for  not  less  than  par,  and  if  the 
entire  proceeds  must  be  paid  into  the  company's  treasury  (as 
under  the  Massachusetts  system),  a  percentage  of  the  net  income 
based  on  the  dividends  paid  —  say,  an  amount  equal  to  the  divi- 
dends paid  in  any  year  in  excess  of  five  or  six  per  cent  —  will 
automatically  give  the  public  its  agreed  share  without  embar- 
rassing the  management  or  offering  any  inducement  to  the  com- 
pany to  divide  profits  in  a  manner  disadvantageous  to  the  other 
party  to  the  contract.^ 

by  sale  in  the  stock  exchange  of  relatively  small  quantities  of  stock.  The  law 
should  have  regard  to  intrinsic  values,  that  is  to  the  price  which  could  probably  be 
obtained  for  a  large  block  of  stock,  rather  than  to  the  prices  recorded  in  the  stock 
market. 

^  See  sec.  lo,  ch.  500,  of  the  Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1897  —  the  charter 
of  the  Boston  Elevated  Railway  Company. 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS  47 

If  any  such  arrangement  is  concluded  between  a  city  and  a 
public  service  company,  the  rates  charged  by  the  latter  should 
still  be  subject  to  public  regulation,  for  there  are  really  three 
parties  to  the  undertaking:  the  city  in  its  corporate  capacity, 
or  the  taxpayers  at  whose  expense  the  streets  have  been  built; 
the  company  to  which  the  use  of  the  streets  has  been  granted; 
and  the  pubhc  which  pays  for  the  transportation  or  commodities 
furnished. 

Where  the  commodity  dealt  in  is  sold  by  fixed  units  of  con- 
sumption the  plan  known  as  the  "  London  sliding  scale  "  fur- 
nishes perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  basis  for  harmonious 
relations  between  the  company  and  its  customers,  as  well  as  a 
keen  inducement  to  progressive  management.  Under  this 
system,  which  presupposes  public  supervision  of  the  company's 
capitalization  and  the  issue  only  of  so  much  stock  or  bonds  as  may 
be  necessary,  a  specified  unit  price  and  rate  of  dividend  are  agreed 
upon  to  start  with,  and  the  subsequent  increase  or  decrease  of  the 
dividend  rate  is  made  to  depend  automatically,  by  means  of  a 
specified  ratio,  upon  the  decrease  or  increase  of  the  unit  price. 
This  system  has  been  in  successful  operation  for  gas  companies 
in  England  for  nearly  forty  years,  and  has  been  applied  to  at  least 
one  large  company  in  the  United  States.  It  would  seem  to  be 
applicable  as  well  to  water  supply,  water  power,  or  electric  light 
and  power  companies,  provided  it  is  feasible  to  sell  the  current 
at  a  fixed  price  per  thousand  gallons,  per  cubic  foot  or  per  kilo- 
watt hour.^ 

e.  Municipal  competition 

Except  in  the  rare  instances  where  an  exclusive  franchise  has 
been  granted  to  a  private  company,  municipal  corporations  may, 
when  authorized  by  the  legislature,  engage  in  any  business  of  the 
kind  commonly  intrusted  to  public  service  companies  without 
paying  any  indemnity  to  these  or  first  purchasing  their  property 
or  franchise.     It  is  customary,  however,  in  such  cases  to  provide 

^  See  the  writer's  report  on  the  "  Public  Regulation  of  Gas  Companies  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  "  (Boston,  George  H.  Ellis  &  Co.,  1905),  and  ch.  422  of  the 
Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1906,  which  applies  the  principle  of  the  sliding 
scale  to  the  Boston  Consolidated  Gas  Company. 


48  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

for  compensation  to  the  private  interests  affected,  either  by  com- 
pelling the  city  to  acqiiire  by  private  treaty  or  condemnation 
proceedings  the  property  and  franchises  of  the  company  affected, 
or  by  giving  the  companies  the  option  of  selling  their  property, 
exclusive  of  franchises,  to  the  city  at  an  agreed  price  or  judicial 
valuation.  The  latter  is  evidently  the  better  plan  in  the  public 
interest,  and  in  the  absence  of  special  circumstances,  it  is  one 
that  is  not  essentially  unfair  to  the  companies.  It  requires,  how- 
ever, very  careful  drafting.  The  longest  valuation  cases  in  the 
coxirts  are  probably  those  which  have  arisen  under  the  careless 
and  ambiguous  language  used  in  municipal  ownership  laws;  and 
in  the  part  of  the  charter  drafts  devoted  to  this  subject  special 
care  has  been  taken  to  avoid  all  danger  that  if  the  city  acquires  a 
plant  in  this  way  it  shall  pay,  directly  or  indirectly,  for  the 
company's  franchise. 

Municipal  ownership,  as  it  is  called,  is  provided  for  by  a  gen- 
eral law  in  only  a  few  of  the  states.  The  writer  believes  that 
every  city  should  have  the  right  to  engage,  imder  proper  condi- 
tions, in  enterprises  of  this  character,  and  the  charter  drafts  con- 
tain this  power.  It  should  not,  however,  be  exercised  hastily, 
and  the  provisions  intended  to  secure  deliberation  and  intelligent 
action  in  this  matter  will  not,  it  is  hoped,  be  regarded  as  too 
restrictive.  The  difficulties  and  dangers  of  mimicipal  owner- 
ship, moreover,  do  not  cease  with  the  acquisition  of  a  plant.  The 
operation  by  a  city  of  a  commercial  business  requires  the  greatest 
prudence  and  restraint.  The  acquisition  and  management  of 
municipal  property  of  this  sort  require  in  fact  such  careful 
treatment  in  a  municipal  law  or  charter  that  they  are  made  the 
subject  of  a  special  chapter  in  this  book,  to  which  the  reader  is 
referred.^ 

As  already  explained,  it  is  assumed  in  the  charters  herein 
presented  that  a  state  board  exists  with  jurisdiction  over  the 
issue  of  capital  stock  and  bonds,  over  the  rates  charged  by  public 
service  companies,  and  over  the  locations  granted  or  revoked  by 

»  See  ch.  zi,  infray  pp.  82-89. 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS  49 

the  local  authorities,   substantially  as  in   the  Massachusetts 
system. 

The  writer  is  under  no  illusion  concerning  the  infaUibiUty  of 
such  a  board.  State  commissions  do  not  always  regulate  as  they 
should,  and  they  have  often  been  the  means  of  perpetuating 
abuses  which  but  for  their  existence  would  have  been  done  away 
with  by  the  legislature.  On  the  other  hand  most  of  the  public 
service  boards  in  this  country,  as  well  as  the  similar  instrumen- 
talities of  foreign  governments,  have  performed  their  duties  well, 
and  the  system  must  now  be  regarded  as  a  fixture  of  municipal 
administrative  policy  all  over  the  world. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Administrative  Provisions  —  Officers  and  Employees 

This  and  the  succeeding  five  chapters  are  devoted  to  the  admin- 
istrative clauses  of  a  city  charter  or  general  municipal  law;  mean- 
ing those  provisions  which  relate  to  the  organization  of  the  execu- 
tive work  of  the  city  and  the  conditions  under  which  it  shall  be 
done,  and  which,  speaking  generally,  may  be  made  a  part  of  any 
city  charter,  regardless  of  general  type  or  political  features. 

As  the  chief  aim  of  this  book  is  to  serve  as  a  handbook  for  prac- 
tical municipal  legislation,  the  sections  devoted  to  the  administra- 
tive provisions  are  regarded  by  the  author  as  the  most  important. 
Except  as  indicated  in  the  Notes,  they  are  based  on  his  personal 
observations  and  experience,  official  and  professional,  during  the 
past  twenty-five  years.  While  he  is  far  from  assuming  that  these 
provisions  embody  a  plan  which  is  certain  to  secure  good  govern- 
ment, he  is  reasonably  confident  that,  if  adopted  in  their  integrity, 
they  will  make  some  of  the  grosser  forms  of  waste  and  corruption 
impossible,  will  keep  down  expenditures,  particularly  by  way  of 
loan,  and  will  render  the  municipal  service  in  all  its  branches 
more  efiicient,  progressive  and  responsive  to  popular  needs  than 
the  methods  of  administration  with  which  our  citizens  are  gen- 
erally familiar. 

The  general  plan  of  these  administrative  features  is  explained 
in  this  part  of  the  book,  while  further  details  will  be  found  in  the 
Notes. 

a.   Organization  of  the  executive  department 

The  first  problem  connected  directly  with  the  transaction  of 
the  city  business  relates  to  the  number  and  dividing  lines  of  the 
departments  among  which  the  conduct  of  it  should  be  divided. 
This  is,  to  some  extent,  a  matter  of  local  convenience,  dependent 
upon  the  size  of  the  city  and  the  nature  of  its  special  activities; 
but  the  general  tendency  is  to  create  too  many  departments, 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  SI 

thereby  increasing  the  difficulty  of  cooperation  between  them 
and  the  ease  with  which  the  public  moneys  may  be  diverted  from 
the  most  effective  use.  Incidentally,  the  more  departments, 
department  heads  and  other  salaried  officers,  the  greater  the 
number  of  rewards  for  political  service  in  the  average  American 
city.  To  secure  the  greatest  simplicity,  cooperation  and  respon- 
sibility the  number  of  departments  and  department  chiefs  should 
therefore  be  as  small  as  possible.  For  a  city  of  100,000  inhabi- 
tants more  or  less,  an  organization  such  as  is  provided  in  section 
I  of  article  VI  of  the  charter  drafts  ought  to  be  ample.  Larger 
cities  might  require  more  departments  or  chief  divisions,  but  not 
many  more;  and  smaller  cities  might  get  along  with  a  smaller 
number.  The  plan  suggested,  if  applied  with  only  minor  changes 
to  almost  any  of  our  cities  having  100,000  inhabitants  or  more, 
would  result  in  a  large  reduction  in  departments,  in  the  elimina- 
tion of  many  unnecessary  officers  and  salaries,  and  in  a  much- 
needed  simplification  and  concentration  of  business. 

Uniformity  is  a  desirable  thing  for  administrative  as  well  as  for 
statistical  purposes,  and  the  writer  has  at  various  times  had 
occasion  to  consider  the  different  schemes  of  municipal  organiza- 
tion adopted  by  the  United  States  Census  Bureau.  These  plans 
are  faulty  in  not  being  based  on  the  customary  legislative  require- 
ments of  city  government  in  most  of  the  states,  and  are  otherwise 
objectionable.  They  have  been  foimd  by  the  writer,  as  well  as 
by  the  officials  of  our  larger  cities,  to  be  entirely  impracticable  as 
a  working  scheme  of  organization.^ 

The  organization  recommended  in  this  book  provides  for  seven 
main  administrative  departments,  the  law,  treasuity,  public 
safety,  pubHc  works,  municipal  property,  public  charities  and 
accounting  departments;  and  for  three  departments  the  duties 
of  which  consist  in  part  of  executive  work  and  in  part  of  the  semi- 
judicial  administration  of  certain  state  laws,  viz.,  the  election, 
assessing  and  license  departments.  These  ten  departments,  with 
the  mayor's  office,  the  city  clerk,  a  library  department  and  a 
penal  institutions  department,  wherever  there  is  need  of  the  latter, 
are  to  transact,  under  the  guidance  of  the  mayor,  the  entire  exec- 

1  See  further  ch.  x,  infra,  pp.  80-81. 


52  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

utive  business  of  the  city.  The  police,  fire,  health,  building 
supervision,  and  weights  and  measures  services  are  to  be  divi- 
sions of  the  department  of  pubUc  safety;  the  streets,  sewers, 
parks,  playgrounds  and  engineering  work  are  to  be  in  charge  of 
branches  of  the  department  of  public  works;  while  the  water 
supply  and  other  forms  of  municipal  enterprise  prosecuted  mainly 
or  in  part  for  revenue,  such  as  gas  works,  electric  Hght  plants, 
street  railways,  subways,  etc.,  are,  where  they  exist,  to  be  sepa- 
rate divisions  of  the  department  of  municipal  property.  The 
diagrams  on  pages  54  and  55  show  in  graphic  form  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  city  government  provided  in  the  charter  drafts. 

b.   The  chief  administrative  officers 

The  writer's  experience  leads  him  to  believe  that  each  depart- 
ment should,  in  the  interest  of  efficiency,  responsibility,  and 
economy  in  salaries,  have  a  single  officer  at  its  head,  not  a  board 
or  commission,  unless  there  are  quasi- judicial  functions  to  dis- 
charge; in  which  case,  in  the  interest  of  justice,  the  department, 
or  the  judicial  powers  of  it,  should  be  vested  in  a  board,  the 
members  of  which  need  not  exceed  three  in  number.  The  charter 
drafts  accordingly  provide  for  a  single  head  for  the  depart- 
ments of  law,  treasury,  public  safety,  public  works,  municipal 
property,  penal  institutions  and  accounting,  and  for  each  divi- 
sion of  the  departments  of  pubHc  safety,  public  works,  public 
charities  and  municipal  property;  while  the  duties  of  the  assess- 
ing, election  and  license  departments  are  vested  in  boards  con- 
sisting of  three  members  each,  and  the  judicial  powers  over  the 
public  health  are  to  be  exercised  by  the  commissioner  of  public 
safety  and  two  of  the  division  heads  of  that  department  sitting 
as  a  board  of  health.  The  library  department,  if  there  is  one, 
stands  on  a  peculiar  footing  and  can  probably  best  be  managed 
by  an  unpaid  board  of  trustees;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  public 
charities  department. 

The  chief  executive  officers  are  expected  to  devote  their  entire 
time  to  the  city's  work  and  their  salaries  should  be  fixed,  in  the 
usual  way,  by  ordinance;  but  the  trustees  of  the  library  and 
public  charities  departments,  the  assessors,  the  license  and  elec- 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  53 

tion  commissioners,  and  in  smaller  cities  perhaps  some  of  the 
other  officers  such  as  the  city  physician  and  the  city  solicitor, 
should  not  be  required  to  give  their  whole  time. 

c.  Mode  of  appointment 

As  already  explained  ^  the  higher  administrative  officers  are 
divided  into  two  groups:  one  of  which,  so  far  as  appointments 
go,  is  within  the  absolute  power  of  the  mayor,  while  the  members 
of  the  other  group  are  to  be  selected  by  the  mayor  from  persons 
who  have  been  found  by  independent  examiners  to  be  qualified. 
It  is  provided  that  the  mayor  shall  have  full  power  to  appoint 
the  department  heads,  except  the  auditor,  treasurer  and  asses- 
sors; while  these  officers,  as  well  as  all  the  division  heads,  are  to 
be  selected  by  the  civil  service  commission  in  the  first  instance. 
The  men  in  charge  of  the  main  administrative  departments 
would  be  appointed  by  the  mayor  as  his  executive  officers  and 
advisers,  and  would  constitute  a  sort  of  cabinet.  The  division 
heads  in  charge  of  the  actual  work  as  well  as  the  heads  of  the 
auditing,  treasury  and  assessing  departments  would  be  under  his 
general  supervision  and  control;  but  to  secure  expert  knowledge 
and  permanency  of  tenure  these  officers  must  be  selected  from  a 
list  of  qualified  candidates  secured  by  a  process  of  special  examina- 
tion. 

d.  Subordinate  employees 

These  are  to  be  selected  under  the  regular  rules  of  the  civil 
service  commission,  presimiably  according  to  the  common  prac- 
tice of  examinations  and  lists,  but  subject  to  such  other  rules  as 
the  commission  may  from  time  to  time  estabhsh.         ^ 

e.  Removals 

No  effective  discipline  is  possible,  in  public  any  more  than  in 
private  work,  unless  the  superior  officers  have  the  full  power  of 
removal;  and  this  is  especially  important  in  a  charter  intended 
to  vest  complete  responsibiUty  in  the  executive  officers  of  the 
city.  The  appointing  authorities  are  accordingly  given  the  full 
power  of  removal. 

^  See  ch.  iv,  b  (2),  pp.  38-40. 


54 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


License 
Commission 


Board  of 


Clerk 


Auditor 


Treasurer 


QU 

H 

Z 
O 

I— I 

00 


O 


DIRECTOR 

OF 
MUNICIPAL 
PROPERTY 

^ 

Property 
Agent 

Manager  Gas  & 
Electric  Works 

^ 

Manager      1 
Waterworks  1 

o  u.  *t:  o 
LU  o  o  ^ 


Library 
Trustees 


Election 
Commission 


Publicity 
Agent 

Solicitor 


Secretary 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS 


ss 


o 


o 

LU 


u 


Ij 

DC 
O 

CO 
ioJ 

>- 

o 

CD 

\ 

\ 

II 

Superintendent 
of  Cemeteries 


alerofWeiehb 
i  Measures 


S6  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

To  obviate  the  injustice  of  arbitrary  removals  without  oppor- 
tunity for  defense,  any  person  removed  is  given  an  opportunity 
to  state  his  case  upon  the  official  records  of  the  city,  and  per- 
manent employees  of  the  fire  and  police  divisions  are  entitled  to 
a  trial  before  a  department  board;  but  in  all  cases  the  decision 
of  the  executive  authorities  is  to  be  final.  The  right  of  a  dis- 
charged employee  to  a  judicial  trial  is  inconsistent  with  discipline 
and  department  efficiency.  What  is  perhaps  the  most  conspicu- 
ous administrative  failure  in  the  world,  that  of  the  police  force 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  is  beyond  question  due  to  the  absence 
of  an  effective  power  of  removal.^ 

The  power  of  removal,  together  with  the  power  of  selecting 
arbitrarily  the  principal  heads  of  departments,  makes  the  mayor 
the  real  poKtical  head  of  the  city  and  generally  responsible  for 
the  proper  conduct  of  its  affairs;  while  the  selection  of  the  work- 
ing division  heads  upon  the  plan  recommended  puts  the  actual 
work  as  much  in  the  expert  hands  where  it  belongs  as  seems  pos- 
sible imder  existing  conditions. 

1  See  also  Part  III,  notes  2>Z  and  34. 

Since  these  words  were  written  they  have  been  confirmed  by  the  refusal  of  Col. 
Goethals,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  Panama  Canal  and  one  of  the  greatest  adminis- 
trative ofiicers  of  the  age,  to  undertake  the  reform  of  the  New  York  police  depart- 
ment unless  the  legislature  would  vest  in  the  commissioner  an  effective  power  of 
removal.  The  legislature  declined  to  make  the  change,  a  fact  which  illustrates  the 
political  difficulty  in  getting  good  government  for  our  larger  cities.  In  Boston, 
where  the  Police  Conmiissioner  has  a  practically  unrestricted  p>ower  of  removal,  the 
police  force  has  been  conspicuously  free  from  the  arbitrary  and  corrupt  misconduct 
which  has  so  long  disgraced  the  New  York  department. 

The  following  quotation  from  Col.  Goethal's  letter  to  the  Mayor  of  New  York, 
under  date  of  January  14,  1914,  gives  his  opinion  on  this  question  as  follows: 

"  Attractive  as  your  offer  is,  I  would  be  obliged  to  decline  it  so  long  as  the  present 
law  remains  in  force  by  which  removals  from  the  police  force  are  subject  to  review, 
with  decision  based  on  legal  evidence.  In  public  work  of  any  kind  efficiency  can  be 
secured  only  when  the  service  of  those  engaged  in  it  is  satisfactory  to  superiors,  and 
while  I  fully  believe  in  the  right  of  every  man  to  have  a  hearing,  the  decision  of  the 
superior  as  to  the  character  of  a  man's  service  should  be  final. 

In  cases  where  a  man  whose  services  have  not  been  satisfactory  can  be  reinstated 
by  a  court  of  review,  the  effect  on  discipline  and  efficiency  is  most  injurious.  It 
undermines  authority,  leads  to  insubordination,  tends  to  destroy  the  loyal  coopera- 
tion which  the  executive  authority  must  have  to  secure  results,  and  makes  his  tenure 
of  office  impossible." 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  S7 

f .   Residence  as  a  qualification 

A  large  amount  of  the  inefficiency,  waste  and  corruption  in  our 
municipal  government  is  traceable  to  the  practice  of  insisting 
upon  local  people  for  the  local  offices  and  work.  Ostensibly  a 
plea  for  "  home  rule  "  it  is  indefensible  as  such,  for  if  better  men 
can  be  found  elsewhere  the  citizens  who  pay  are  entitled  to  their 
services;  but  in  fact  this  argument  is  generally  a  mere  cover  for 
pohtical  favoritism  and  local  graft.  Such  discriminations  against 
the  pubHc  interest  should  be  prohibited  both  as  to  employees  and 
contractors.  Where,  however,  a  non-resident  has  been  selected 
for  a  more  or  less  permanent  office  it  seems  reasonable,  in  most 
cases  at  least,  that  he  should  become  identified  with  the  affairs 
of  the  city  to  the  extent  of  taking  up  his  residence  there. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Administrative  Provisions  (continued)  —  Appropriations, 
Taxes  and  Loans 

In  conformity  with  the  views  previously  expressed  ^  the  char- 
ters are  drafted  upon  the  theory  that  the  mayor  and  city  council 
may  appropriate  such  sums  as  they  please  without  reference  to 
the  effect  upon  the  tax  rate;  while  for  states  or  communities 
which  prefer  a  statutory  limitation,  an  alternative  clause  is 
inserted  which  provides  that  the  tax  levy  shall  exceed  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  valuation  of  property  only  after  a  referendum 
on  the  question,  and  in  that  case  by  only  so  much  in  excess  of  the 
tax  Hmit  as  may  be  voted. 

So  far  as  the  borrowing  of  money  goes,  too  many  restrictions 
and  checks  cannot,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  be  placed  upon 
the  exercise  of  this  function,  particularly  if  there  is  no  tax  Kmit. 
Besides  the  constitutional  limitations  which  the  history  of  this 
country  has  shown  to  be  both  necessary  and  effective,  every 
legislative  device  which  experience  can  suggest  to  avoid  the  im- 
provident exercise  of  the  borrowing  power  should  be  inserted  in 
the  charter. 

a.   The  annual  estimates 

These,  before  submission  to  the  appropriating  power,  should 
be  revised  by  some  independent  and  more  or  less  permanent 
officer,  such  as  the  city  auditor;  for  the  natural  aim  of  each  de- 
partment is  to  secure  for  its  work  the  largest  possible  share  of  the 
tax  levy.  After  revision  the  estimates  should  be  sent  to  the 
mayor  and  city  council,  together  with  the  city  auditor's  estimates 
of  income,  and  the  corresponding  figures  for  the  income  and 
expense  of  the  preceding  year.  The  appropriations  recommended 
should,  for  the  sake  of  comparison  as  well  as  for  other  reasons, 
be  divided  sharply  into  such  as  are  for  ordinary  current  depart- 

*  See  ch.  iii,  f,  supra,  pp.  25-28. 
58 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  59 

ment  purposes  and  can  with  propriety  be  defrayed  only  from 
taxes  and  income,  and  such  as  are  for  permanent  improvements 
which  may  with  propriety  be  met  either  from  annual  receipts  or 
by  loans. 

b.   The  annual  budget 

If,  in  accordance  with  the  views  already  expressed,  the  mayor 
is  to  have  full  concurrent  power  with  the  city  council  over  the 
expenditure  of  money,  it  would  seem  to  make  little  difference 
whether  the  annual  appropriation  bill  originates  in  the  city  coun- 
cil or  with  the  mayor.  The  former  practice  would  conform  to  the 
custom  of  our  state  legislatures  and  of  Congress,  as  well  as  to  the 
earlier  view  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  EngHsh  Parliament.  It  has 
also,  until  quite  recently,  been  the  invariable  practice  in  American 
cities.  In  other  countries,  however,  the  budget  originates  with 
the  executive;  such  is  now  in  effect  the  practice  in  England  where 
the  ministry  for  the  time  being  (which  has  become  the  executive 
power)  prepares  the  budget;  and  the  custom  has  been  strongly 
recommended  for  general  imitation  by  the  cities  of  this  country. 
It  has  already  been  adopted  by  many  of  them,  and  is  the  plan 
recommended  by  the  writer  as  more  likely  than  the  reverse  pro- 
cess to  secure  prompt  and  intelligent  action  upon  a  bill  which 
ought  to  be  passed  as  early  in  the  year  as  possible. 

The  mayor,  after  receiving  the  department  estimates  and  the 
auditor's  figures  and  recommendations,  should  send  his  own  rec- 
ommendations, in  the  form  of  a  definite  bill  or  budget,  to  the 
city  council.  The  subsequent  proceedings  are  matters  of  detail 
which  are  more  fully  treated  in  the  charter  drafts  and  Notes. 

There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  the  appropria- 
tions for  current  expenses  should  be  made  in  lump  sums  for  each 
department  or  division,  or  upon  the  "  segregated  budget  "  plan. 
The  tendency  of  the  latter  system  is  to  put  too  much  detail  into 
the  budget  and,  especially  under  a  charter  which  gives  the  mayor 
a  quaUhed  power  of  veto  only,  to  transfer  the  control  of  the  exec- 
utive work  of  the  city  to  the  city  council.  The  writer  has  had 
experience  with  both  systems,  and  prefers  the  lump  sum  budget; 
but,  under  a  charter  which  gives  the  mayor  full  concurrent  power 
over  the  appropriations,  the  danger  that  the  city  council  will  seek 


6o  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

to  interfere  with  the  executive  work  by  misuse  of  the  power  to 
itemize  the  department  expenditures  is  not  so  great.  Under  a 
charter  of  this  type  it  may  well  be  left  to  the  mayor  and  city  coun- 
cil to  adopt  such  itemized  form  of  budget  as  they  see  fit  to  pre- 
scribe by  ordinance;  and  the  charter  draft  contains  a  provision 
to  this  effect. 

c.    Transfers 

The  subject  of  transfers  is  one  which  must  be  covered  in  the 
charter,  as  otherwise  an  opportunity  exists  to  construct  the  annual 
budget  in  a  way  which  will  meet  with  popular  approval,  and 
subsequently  to  provide  money  for  less  meritorious  purposes  by 
means  of  transfer  orders  which  do  not  secure  the  same  publicity. 
This  is  a  scheme  which  has  frequently  been  resorted  to  by  unscru- 
pulous mayors  and  city  councils,  and  should  be  made  as  difficult 
as  possible  without  prohibiting  such  transfers  as  are  reasonable 
or  necessary. 

d.   The  tax  levy 

The  preparation  and  issue  of  the  order  or  warrant  authorizing 
the  tax  levy  is  largely  a  matter  of  computation  and  can  safely 
be  confided  to  the  board  of  assessors,  with  instructions  to  include 
so  much  of  the  annual  budget  as  must  be  raised  from  taxes,  and 
all  other  items,  including  state  and  county  taxes,  interest  and  debt 
requirements,  that  must  be  met  by  taxation.  In  ordinary  prac- 
tice the  annual  tax  warrant  is  passed  by  the  city  council;  but  the 
preparation  of  this  document  is  a  purely  ministerial  act,  and  to 
insure  accuracy  had  better  be  intrusted  to  the  appropriate  execu- 
tive department.  Moreover,  if  the  duty  of  issuing  the  tax  war- 
rant is  lodged  with  the  assessors,  compliance  with  the  law  is 
easier  to  secure  by  mandamus  than  if  the  parties  in  default  are  a 
legislative  or  political  body.  As  stated  in  chapter  III,  the 
charter  drafts  assume  that  there  is  no  statutory  tax  Hmit;  but  an 
alternative  clause  is  submitted  which  provides  a  limit  which  may 
not  be  exceeded  except  by  a  referendum.* 

*  See  supra,  pp.  27-28,  and  sec.  6,  art.  VII. 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  6 1 

e.  Purposes  and  terms  for  which  money  may  he  borrowed 

Cities  have  by  law  no  inherent  power  of  borrowing  money;  ^ 
but  our  state  legislatures  have  usually  conferred  upon  them  a 
borrowing  power  coextensive  with  the  taxing  power.  That  is, 
a  city  can  generally  borrow  money  for  any  purpose  for  which  it 
can  levy  taxes.  The  abuse  of  this  power  is  one  of  the  worst, 
because  the  most  lasting,  of  the  evils  of  municipal  government  as 
hitherto  carried  on,  particularly  in  states  which  have  not  had  the 
prudence  to  establish  constitutional  limits  for  municipal  debt. 
To  put  an  absolute  end  to  these  practices  by  law  would  seem  to 
be  impossible  without  crippling  the  finances  of  the  city,  as  it  is 
difl&cult  to  foresee  all  the  occasions  in  which  the  credit  of  the  city 
may  legitimately  be  pledged;  but  much  can  be  accomplished  by 
specifying  the  general  purposes  for  which  money  may  be  bor- 
rowed, and  by  limiting  the  duration  of  loans. 

For  instance,  one  of  the  commonest  devices  for  easing  the 
burden  of  a  loan  on  the  taxpayers  of  the  present  day,  to  the  detri- 
ment of  succeeding  generations,  is  to  postpone  the  maturity  of  the 
bonds  to  a  date  more  remote  than  the  life  of  the  improvement  for 
which  the  money  is  to  be  used.  Twenty  or  thirty-year  loans  for 
pavements  which  wear  out  in  ten  years  or  less  may  be  regarded 
as  the  type  of  this  kind  of  municipal  financing;  and  it  would  seem 
possible  to  prohibit  this  practice  by  fixing  the  maximum  terms  for 
loans. 

In  accordance  with  the  foregoing  views  the  charters  in  Part  II 
contain  a  specification  of  the  purposes  and  periods  for  which 
municipal  loans  may  be  issued.  There  will,  the  writer  thinks,  be 
Httle  question  as  to  the  purposes  to  which  the  borrowing  power  is 
restricted;  but  the  loan  periods  provided  may  be  regarded  by 
some  as  too  short.  This  may  perhaps  be  true  of  particular  com- 
munities; or  for  an  improvement,  such  as  a  macadam  road,  which 
in  some  particular  locality  may  be  used  very  Httle.  For  the 
average  city,  however,  the  periods  suggested  are,  in  the  writer's 
experience,  none  too  short. 

1  See  supra,  pp.  26-27. 


62  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

f .  Other  checks  on  the  borrowing  power 

Not  only  should  the  mayor  have  full  concurrent  power  over 
loans  and  items;  but  in  a  matter  of  this  importance  special  pro- 
vision may  well  be  made  for  more  than  ordinary  deliberation  by 
the  city  council.  The  charter  drafts  provide  accordingly  that 
a  loan  order  must  be  read  twice  with  an  interval  between  the  two 
readings  sufficient  for  public  action. 

A  statutory  debt  limit  is  also  provided,  for  what  it  may  be 
worth,  for  cities  in  states  which  have  no  constitutional  Kmit  for 
municipal  debts.  A  clause  for  a  state  board  with  a  suspensory 
veto  over  municipal  loans  will  be  found  in  Part  III,  note  42. 

g.  Forms  of  loans,  sinking  fund  and  serial 

The  principal  question  arising  under  this  head  is  whether  the 
loans  shall  be  issued  on  the  sinking  fund  plan,  by  which  all 
bonds  of  the  same  series  fall  due  at  the  same  time,  and  the  pay- 
ment of  the  principal  is  secured  by  annual  contributions  from 
taxes  to  a  sinking  fund  and  the  accumulations  of  this  fund  through 
investment;  or  on  the  annual  installment  or  serial  plan,  by  which 
a  certain  part  of  the  principal  of  each  loan  falls  due  each  year  and 
is  included  in  the  tax  levy.  The  second  plan  does  away  with  the 
machinery  and  dangers  of  the  sinking  fund  system  and  is  much 
to  be  preferred.  When  first  adopted  municipal  bonds  issued  in 
this  form  did  not  bring  quite  as  high  a  price  in  the  market  as  if 
they  had  been  issued  under  the  then  universal  sinking  fund  plan; 
but  now  that  the  serial  form  of  state  and  municipal  bond  issues 
has  become  common  it  is  understood  that  these  bonds  sell  as  well 
as  the  older  form. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  the  city  saves  any  money  in  the 
end  by  the  adoption  of  the  serial  plan;  for,  given  the  same 
assumptions  as  to  rates  of  interest  and  accumulation,  the  aggre- 
gate payments  will  be  the  same  on  either  plan.^    The  argument 

^  If  the  sinking  funds  are  assumed  to  accumulate  at  a  rate  greater  than  the  rate 
of  interest  on  the  bonds,  the  advantage  is  with  the  sinking  fund  system;  but  if  the 
rate  of  accumulation  in  the  sinking  fund  is  assumed  to  be  less  than  that  paid  for 
interest  on  the  bonds  the  serial  system  will  cost  the  city  less.  The  proper  assump- 
tion to  make  is,  of  course,  that  the  two  rates  are  the  same;  and  on  this  hypothesis 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  63 

that  a  city  saves  money  by  the  serial  system  has  been  earnestly 
advanced  by  intelligent  supporters  of  this  reform;  but  this  argu- 
ment is  a  complete  fallacy.  The  advantages  of  the  serial  loan 
system  are  not  financial,  but  political  or  administrative. 

The  great  merit  of  serial  bonds  over  those  secured  by  a  sinking 
fund  is  the  avoidance  of  the  waste,  losses  and  mismanagement 
to  which,  in  many  different  ways,  the  sinking  fund  system  is 
always  open.  Among  the  more  obvious  of  these  abuses  the  fol- 
lowing, taken  from  the  personal  observations  of  the  writer,  may 
be  noted. 

The  legislature  in  authorizing  municipal  loans  sometimes  fails 
to  provide  that  a  sufficient  sum  shall  be  paid  annually  into  the 
sinking  fund ;  sometimes  provides  no  means  of  enforcement  if  the 
city  omits  to  make  the  payments;  sometimes  fixes  a  maximum 
annual  payment  which  is  insufficient  to  sink  the  debt;  sometimes 
by  fixing  an  inadequate  minimum  annual  payment  encourages 
the  city  to  pay  this  amount  and  no  more ;  sometimes  deliberately 
sanctions  the  postponement  of  all  sinking  fund  payments  for  a 
term  of  years;  sometimes  authorizes  the  temporary  suspension 
of  them ;  often  omits  to  provide  that  premiums  shall  be  paid  into 
the  sinking  fund;  and  frequently  authorizes  the  diversion  of  the 
funds  to  current  expenses  and  other  uses.  These  may  be  termed 
mistakes  of  legislative  theory. 

The  first  public  water  supply  act  in  the  New  England  states 
and  one  of  the  earliest  in  the  country,^  although  providing  that 
the  rates  should  be  fixed  with  the  idea  not  only  of  keeping  down 
the  interest  on  the  bonds  but  of  ultimately  paying  the  principal, 

the  aggregate  cost  to  the  community  is  exactly  the  same  by  either  plan.  A  million 
dollar,  three  per  cent,  twenty-year  loan,  for  instance,  involves  on  the  serial  plan 
direct  payments  by  the  city,  on  account  of  principal  and  interest,  of  $1,315,000, 
while  on  the  sinking  fund  plan  the  payments  would  amount  to  $1,334,426.  This  is 
not  the  whole  story,  however,  for  in  the  earlier  period  of  the  loan  the  payments  on 
the  sinking  fund  plan  are  less  than  on  the  serial  plan,  while  in  the  later  years  the 
converse  is  the  case,  and  the  value  (or  aggregate  interest)  of  the  differences,  com- 
pounded at  three  per  cent,  amounts  to  $31,  461  on  the  sinking  fund  plan  as  against 
$12,035  on  the  serial  plan  —  a  difference  of  $19,  426,  which  exactly  offsets  the  differ- 
ence between  the  direct  payments  by  the  city  on  the  two  plans. 

^  The  Cochituate  water  act  for  the  city  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  Acts  and  Re- 
solves, 1867,  ch.  167. 


64  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

added  that  this  should  be  done  only  so  far  as  the  same  may  be 
"  practicable  and  reasonable.''  The  act  provided  that  if  the 
rates  were  insufficient  to  pay  the  accruing  interest  they  might 
be  increased  by  appeal  to  the  courts  so  far  as  necessary  to  meet 
the  interest  "  and  no  farther,"  and  that  if  the  rates  produced 
more  than  the  interest  requirements  they  could  be  reduced  upon 
such  appeal.  Fortunately  the  authorities  of  the  city  of  Boston 
had  sense  enough  to  pay  no  attention  to  these  provisions;  but  as 
this  statute  served  as  the  basis  for  many  other  municipal  water 
acts  the  astonishing  absence  of  all  practical  provision  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  debt  had  an  unfortunate  effect  upon  public  water 
finance  throughout  the  state. 

Another  legislative  error  very  common  in  municipal  water  acts 
is  the  provision  that  there  shall  be  an  annual  payment  into  the 
sinking  funds  "  of  at  least  one  per  cent  "  —  a  sum  grossly  inade- 
quate to  sink  bonds  of  the  length  usually  issued  for  municipal 
water  works.  With  such  a  statute  in  front  of  them  city  and  town 
authorities  have  quite  generally  issued  twenty-year  bonds,  put 
one  per  cent  into  a  sinking  fund  each  year  in  compliance  with  the 
law,  and  when  the  bonds  matured  found  that  the  sinking  funds 
were  only  about  one-third  full.^ 

Errors  in  administration  are  more  frequent  yet.  Defalcations 
sometimes  occur;  the  banks  of  deposit  sometimes  fail,  and  these 
banks  are  often  selected  by  favor;  improvident  loans  are  fre- 
quently made,  and  often  to  corporations  in  which  one  of  the 
commissioners  is  interested;  bad  investments  in  mortgages  and 
real  estate  are  sometimes  found;  sometimes  no  payments  at  all 
are  made  from  the  tax  levy;   sometimes  they  are  miscalculated 

^  The  most  flagrant  cases  of  legislative  folly  in  the  matter  of  sinking  funds  known 
to  the  author  are  those  presented  by  the  Massachusetts  metropolitan  water  act 
(Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1895,  ch.  488)  and  the  metropoUtan  park  acts 
(Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1896,  ch.  550,  and  ihid.,  1897,  ch.  311),  under  the 
provisions  of  which  the  interest  and  sinking  fund  requirements,  for  the  first  few 
years  in  the  case  of  the  park  loans,  and  for  an  indefinite  period  in  the  case  of  the 
water  loan,  were  to  be  met  by  the  issue  of  bonds.  The  writer  took  occasion  to  call 
these  remarkable  acts  to  the  attention  of  the  governor  who  had  signed  one  of  them, 

and  was  informed  that  it  had  to  be  done  because  the  people  of  S (one  of  the 

smaller  communities  in  the  metropoUtan  district)  insisted  on  it !  His  successor,  how- 
ever, secured  the  repeal  of  both  laws. 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  65 

for  a  long  series  of  years;  sometimes  less  than  the  necessary 
amount  is  deliberately  paid  in ;  sometimes  the  sinking  funds  are 
loaned  out  for  other  municipal  purposes;  sometimes  they  are 
permanently  diverted  to  other  uses.^ 

There  is  no  branch  of  municipal  administration  in  which  more 
can  be  done,  and  done  more  easily,  to  secure  good  results  than 
that  which  is  charged  with  the  payment  of  the  city  debt.  It  is  no 
exaggeration,  the  writer  believes,  to  assert  that  at  least  ten  per 
cent  of  the  aggregate  outstanding  municipal  debt  in  Massa- 
chusetts at  the  present  time  is  due  to  inadequate  sinking  fund 
methods;  and  that  of  the  net  outstanding  municipal  debt  incur- 
red for  water,  gas  and  electric  works  at  least  twenty-five  per  cent 
is  due  to  the  combined  operation  of  improper  sinking  fund 
methods  and  inadequate  allowances  for  depreciation.  Probably 
no  city  in  the  country  is  free  from  some  costly  experience  in  the 
matter  of  sinking  funds,  and  so  far  as  this  cause  of  loss  is  con- 
cerned the  remedy  is  easy.  Depreciation  is  a  much  more  difficult 
subject  and  is  treated  separately  in  this  book.^ 

There  are  three  forms  of  serial  bonds  in  use.  Sometimes  the 
legislature  authorizes  the  public  authorities  to  specify  in  advance 
the  portion  of  the  debt  which  shall  be  paid  each  year;^  sometimes 
it  is  provided  that  the  annual  payments  of  principal  shall  be 
equal  ;^  and  sometimes  that  the  payments  of  principal  shall  be  so 
adjusted  that  the  aggregate  pajonent  each  year  for  principal  and 
interest  shall  be  the  same.^  The  first  of  these  plans  is  open  to  the 
objection  that  it  permits  the  postponement  of  the  payment  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  loan  to  the  latter  years  of  the  period,  and  thus 
defeats  the  very  object  of  the  serial  system.  The  second  plan, 
known  as  the  annual  installment  system,  is  the  most  common, 
the  most  simple,  and  perhaps  on  the  whole  the  most  satisfactory. 

^  There  is  a  large  volume  of  literature  devoted  to  the  evils  of  the  sinking  fund  sys- 
tem. Most  of  it  is  referred  to  in  an  article  by  Mr.  Alfred  D.  Chandler  in  the  Ameri- 
can Economic  Review  for  December,  1913  (vol.  iii,  pp.  875-893).  See  also  the  Reports 
of  the  Boston  Finance  Commission,  1907-1909,  ii,  pp.  44-55  and  160-165. 

2  See  ch.  xi,  infra,  p.  85. 

'  See  Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1903,  ch.  226,  and  ibid.,  191 2,  ch.  3. 

^  See  ibid.,  1882,  ch.  133. 

*  See  ibid.,  1908,  ch.  341,  and  ibid.,  1909,  ch.  486,  sec.  26. 


66  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

The  third  plan,  sometimes  called  the  annuity  system,  is  also 
recommended  by  the  writer. 

The  sinking  fund  system  is  both  objectionable  and  unnecessary, 
and  ought  not  to  be  adopted;  but  as  the  charter  drafts  are  written 
for  application  to  existing  cities,  and  as  most  of  these  have  sinking 
fund  bonds  outstanding,  provision  must  be  made  for  the  continua- 
tion of  the  system,  under  such  directions  as  experience  may 
suggest,  until  these  loans  are  paid. 

Such  provisions  should  include,  first,  a  specific  direction  to  pay 
each  year  from  the  tax  levy  the  correct  calculated  amount  neces- 
sary to  sink  the  debt  at  maturity,  notwithstanding  that  the  bonds 
themselves,  or  the  statute  under  which  they  were  issued,  may 
authorize  smaller  payments;  and,  secondly,  a  provision  that  the 
sinking  fund  shall  be  filled  as  rapidly  as  possible  from  the  pre- 
miums received  for  the  sale  of  the  bonds,  the  proceeds  of  aban- 
doned real  estate,  and  the  collections  from  betterments  and 
assessments  for  public  improvements.  Even  with  these  safe- 
guards ways  can  be  found  to  deplete  the  sinking  funds  unless  they 
are  administered  with  scrupulous  integrity  and  a  determination 
that  they  shall  be  sufficient  to  meet  the  debt  at  maturity,  and  as 
much  sooner  as  possible. 

There  are  some  minor  evils  in  the  sinking  fund  system,  as  com- 
monly practiced,  which  should  also  be  avoided.  The  sinking 
funds  should  not,  at  least  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  be  invested 
in  the  city's  own  bonds;  for  such  purchases  add  nothing  to  the 
security  of  the  creditor  beyond  the  obHgation  of  the  debt  itself, 
and  the  practice  encourages  improvident  borrowing.^  Then 
some  cities  put  sinking  funds  into  real  estate  or  mortgages; 
a  practice  which,  while  not  open  to  the  objections  already 
referred  to,  is  apt  to  lead  to  favoritism  and  financial  risk.  By  far 
the  better  plan  is  to  invest  all  the  sinking  funds  (and  all  trust 
funds  belonging  to  the  city  as  well)  in  public  securities,  other 

^  Private  corporations  sometimes  resort  to  the  same  illusory  practice.  The 
second  largest  railway  company  in  New  England,  now  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy, 
maintains  an  alleged  sinking  fund  for  some  of  its  bonds;  but  as  the  "  fund  "  is 
composed  in  great  part  of  other  bonds  issued  by  the  company,  the  holders  of  the 
sinking  fund  bonds  are  but  little  better  off  than  the  holders  of  the  company's 
unsecured  bonds. 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  67 

than  those  of  the  city  in  question,  at  their  market  value;  and  the 
charter  drafts  are  framed  accordingly. 

Whether  the  serial  or  the  sinking  fund  system  of  debt  payment 
be  adopted,  the  annual  payments  on  account  of  both  principal  and 
interest  should  be  automatically  incorporated  with  the  tax  levy 
for  the  year,  and  not  left  to  be  included  by  the  mayor  and  city 
council  or  not  as  they  see  fit;  and  provision  should  be  made  that 
the  taxpayers  may  by  appropriate  legal  process  compel  compli- 
ance with  this  requirement. 

All  premiums  received  on  the  sale  of  municipal  bonds  should  be 
applied  to  the  extinction  of  the  debt.  If  a  sinking  fund  is 
established  the  premiums  should  be  put  immediately  into  the 
fund;  if  the  serial  plan  is  adopted  the  premiums  should  be  used 
to  pay  the  installments  of  principal  first  maturing. 

h.  Loans  in  anticipation  of  taxes 

Temporary  loans  for  this  purpose  are,  of  course,  necessary 
incidents  of  municipal  finance ;  but  if  not  properly  taken  care  of 
at  maturity  they  become  a  real,  though  not  acknowledged,  addi- 
tion to  the  permanent  indebtedness  of  the  city.  If  they  can  be 
carried  over  the  fiscal  year,  or  renewed  instead  of  paid,  the  temp- 
tation is  to  keep  them  as  a  surreptitious  but  permanent  Hability, 
and  even  to  increase  the  amount  of  them  from  year  to  year. 

All  such  loans  should  be  payable,  and  should  be  actually  paid, 
within  the  fiscal  year;  and  no  renewals  should  be  permitted. 

To  cover  the  frequent  case  of  a  city  which  has  allowed  a  so- 
called  "  temporary  "  loan  of  this  character  to  become  a  serious 
liability,  a  provision  is  inserted  in  the  charter  drafts  by  which 
such  obligations  may  be  liquidated  by  annual  payments  from 
taxes  extending  over  a  period  not  exceeding  five  years.^ 

^  For  some  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  practice  of  carrying  loans  temporary 
in  name  but  permanent  in  effect  has  been  followed  in  one  state,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  report  of  the  Massachusetts  Joint  Committee  on  Municipal  Finance,  House 
Document  no.  1803  of  the  year  1913.  The  correcting  legislation  passed  that  year, 
however,  (Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1913,  ch.  634),  allows  towns  and  cities 
which  have  outstanding  demand  loans  and  do  not  find  it  "  reasonably  practicable  " 
to  pay  them  out  of  the  tax  levy  for  19 14,  to  fund  these  loans  by  means  of  fifteen-year 
bonds  issued  in  serial  form.  The  period  allowed  for  the  correction  of  the  financial 
vice  illustrated  by  these  so-called  temporary  loans  is  altogether  too  long. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Administrative  Provisions  {continued)  —  General 
Rules  for  the  Conduct  of  Business 

The  more  important  provisions  of  this  character  which  have 
been  incorporated  in  the  charter  drafts  relate  to  the  letting  of 
contracts  and  the  purchase  of  materials,  and  to  the  prohibition 
of  collusive  transactions  between  the  city  officials  and  outside 
parties.  Interference  by  the  legislative  with  the  executive 
department,  and  department  expenditures  in  excess  of  the  appro- 
priations are  also  prohibited.  Other  relatively  minor  provisions 
will  be  considered  in  the  Notes  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 

a.   The  letting  of  contracts  and  the  purchase  of  supplies 

This  fruitful  source  of  corruption  and  waste  may  be  made  rea- 
sonably free  from  objection  by  noting  from  the  experience  of  our 
American  cities  and  the  litigation  on  the  subject  in  just  what 
particulars  contracts  for  miuiicipal  work  have  proved  a  source  of 
waste  and  fraud,  and  by  the  adoption  of  practical  measures  to 
avoid  the  difficulties  thus  indicated. 

In  the  first  place,  all  contracts  for  materials  or  work  should  be 
in  writing  and  should  be  invalid  unless  signed  by  the  head  of  the 
department.  If  involving  more  than  a  certain  sum,  they  should 
also  be  approved  in  writing  by  the  mayor.  Freedom  to  give  out 
orders  and  contracts  by  word  of  mouth  or  over  the  telephone  is 
doubtless  a  convenience,  but  it  leads  to  misunderstandings  in 
private  business,  and  is  entirely  inadmissible  in  public  work. 
If  an  oral  order  is  really  necessary  in  some  matter  not  admitting 
of  delay  the  department  head  will  have  no  difficulty  in  getting 
the  order  filled  by  some  responsible  person  who  will  do  so  in  the 
expectation  that  a  written  order  will  follow.  In  all  other  cases 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  written  instrument  should  not  precede 
the  delivery  of  the  goods  or  the  execution  of  the  work. 

Equally  important  is  it  to  provide  that  all  alterations  in,  or 
additions  to,  a  written  contract  or  order  should  also  be  in  writing, 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  69 

and  signed  and  approved  in  the  same  manner  as  the  original 
instrument.  The  most  frequent  cause  of  litigation  growing  out 
of  the  erection  of  buildings  and  similar  work,  whether  on  public 
or  private  account,  is  probably  the  claim  for  "  extras  ";  and  there 
is  every  reason  to  require  that  such  claims  should  be  evidenced 
by  the  same  formalities  as  the  original  contract.  The  proper 
time  to  fix  the  amount  and  price  of  extra  work  is  before  it  is  done, 
not  afterwards.  While  in  dealings  between  private  individuals 
complete  immunity  from  disputes  over  extras  cannot  be  secured 
in  the  manner  suggested  —  because  such  a  provision  would  inter- 
fere with  freedom  of  contract,  and  a  man  cannot  by  any  form  of 
writing  prevent  himself  from  afterwards  making  an  oral  contract 
relating  to  the  same  matter  —  in  pubHc  work  this  is  fortunately 
not  the  case.  The  contracts  of  municipal  corporations,  as 
creatures  of  the  state,  are  wholly  subject  to  the  legislative  will. 
The  legislature  can  accordingly  provide  that  no  claim  for 
extras  shall  be  valid  against  the  city  unless  evidenced  by  the 
signature  of  the  department  head,  and  in  proper  cases  fortified 
by  the  written  approval  of  the  mayor.  Such  a  law  has  been  in 
operation  for  some  years  in  Massachusetts,^  and  has  saved  an 
immense  amount  of  litigation.  It  imposes  no  real  hardship  on 
the  contractor  or  material  man,  and  blocks  the  way  to  an  easy 
and  much-used  form  of  graft. 

That  all  public  contracts  and  orders  for  supplies  should  be 
based  on  competition  has  become  a  commonplace  feature  of  our 
public  law;  but  many  of  the  requirements  adopted  have  proved 
ineffectual  in  practice,  and  department  heads  are  constantly 
striving  to  avoid  or  evade  the  law,  either  from  dislike  for  the  pro- 
cedure of  public  competition,  or  from  less  excusable  motives. 
While  it  is  doubtless  true  that  in  some  cases  better  prices  can  be 
obtained,  or  more  responsible  contractors  secured,  by  private 
correspondence  than  by  open  competition,  experience  has  amply 
demonstrated  that  the  only  road  for  public  officers  in  this  country 
to  follow,  in  the  letting  of  contracts  and  the  purchase  of  supplies, 
is  the  open  road  of  advertised  competition. 

*  See  Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1890,  ch.  418,  a  law  which  the  writer 
helped  to  draft. 


70  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

All  contracts  for  materials  or  work  involving  any  considerable 
expenditure,  say,  more  than  $iocx),  should  therefore  be  let  only 
after  public  advertisement.  The  contents  of  the  advertisement 
and  bids,  the  formalities  for  opening  the  same,  and  other  details 
may  be  left  to  the  city  council  to  regulate  by  ordinance. 

Care  must  also  be  taken  that  the  law  is  not  evaded  by  splitting 
up  an  order  or  contract  into  several  jobs  of  less  than  $1000  each  — 
a  favorite  trick  with  dishonest  or  too  complaisant  municipal 
officers. 

Pains  must  be  taken  in  the  next  place  to  protect  the  city 
against  collusive  bidding.  The  department  head  should  have  the 
right  to  reject  all  bids  and  to  re-advertise  the  contract.  He 
should  not  have  the  right,  of  his  own  initiative  or  with  the  sole 
approval  of  the  mayor,  to  award  the  contract  to  any  but  the 
lowest  bidder;  for  the  reservation  of  such  a  right  enables  the 
department  heads  or  the  mayor  to  evade  the  law  for  their  own 
personal  or  political  benefit,  and  has  frequently  been  made  use 
of  for  this  purpose.  Provision  should  be  made,  however,  for  the 
rare  case  when  a  bid,  not  the  lowest,  is  really  the  most  advanta- 
geous to  the  city,  and  this  can  best  be  done,  or  done  with  the  least 
danger,  by  providing  that  a  contract  may  be  awarded  to  a  person 
not  the  lowest  bidder  upon  the  written  advice  of  the  head  of  the 
department  and  of  the  mayor  and  by  a  formal  order  of  the  city 
council  read  twice  with  an  interval  of  at  least  a  week  between 
readings. 

State  laws  and  municipal  ordinances  relating  to  this  subject 
usually  provide  for  a  suspension,  intended  to  be  authorized  only 
in  case  of  emergency,  of  the  requirement  for  the  advertisement  of 
contracts;  but  such  a  provision  can  obviously  be  used  to  defeat 
the  law  itself,  and  is  in  fact  commonly  so  used.  To  draft  a  clause 
to  meet  this  situation  is  not  easy,  but  that  contained  in  the  fifth 
paragraph  of  section  i  in  article  VI,  is  believed  to  be  adequate  for 
the  protection  of  the  city,  in  the  rare  cases  in  which  purchases  or 
contracts  of  over  $1000  in  amount  ought  to  be  undertaken  without 
advertisement.  If  the  mayor  must,  in  each  case  in  which  he  has 
suspended  the  necessity  for  advertisement,  forthwith  make  a 
public  report  to  the  city  council  that  he  has  done  so  and  must 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  Jl 

state  the  reasons  for  such  action,  and  if,  as  provided  in  article  XI, 
section  i,  he  can  be  prosecuted  for  a  deliberate  misuse  of  this 
power,  it  is  not  likely  that  many  contracts  will  be  awarded  or 
purchases  made  without  advertisement  in  order  to  defraud  the 
city  or  to  favor  his  political  supporters. 

The  final  clause  in  section  i  of  article  VIII,  making  voidable 
every  contract  or  purchase  which  is  entered  into  in  violation  of  the 
foregoing  requirements  is  most  important.  Contractors  will  be 
reluctant  to  deal  dishonestly  with  the  city  if  they  must  take  the 
risk  of  any  departure  from  the  wholesome  rule  of  competition. 
Such  a  clause  is  not  common  in  municipal  legislation,  but  it  is 
not  unknown,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  should  be  a  part 
of  every  city  charter. 

A  special  class  of  contracts  consists  of  agreements  for  the  per- 
formance of  work  of  a  continuing  nature,  such  as  Ugh  ting  the 
pubhc  streets,  collecting  garbage,  and  so  forth.  The  performance 
of  such  contracts  necessitates  a  large  plant,  and  a  favorable  price 
cannot  be  expected  unless  the  contract  is  made  for  a  period  of 
considerable  length.  Such  long-term  contracts,  involving  as  they 
do  the  appropriations  and  taxes  of  succeeding  years,  should  not 
be  left  to  the  sole  decision  of  the  mayor  and  department  heads. 
They  are  in  the  nature  of  executive  work,  it  is  true ;  but  the  work 
is  of  a  pecuHar  nature,  and  only  a  small  fraction  of  its  cost  will  be 
incurred  during  the  terms  for  which  these  officers  are  elected  or 
appointed.  It  would  seem  that  the  approval  of  the  city  council 
may  well  be  required  as  an  additional  check  upon  the  negotiation 
of  long-term  contracts  for  street  lighting  and  similar  purposes. 
A  clause  to  this  effect  has  been  adopted  for  some  of  our  large 
cities,  and  is  incorporated  in  the  charter  drafts  contained  in  this 
book. 

The  drafts  also  provide  against  discrimination  in  favor  of  local 
contractors  and  material  men.  Such  favoritism,  though  plausible 
at  first  sight,  is  in  reality  nothing  but  a  waste  of  other  people's 
money  for  the  benefit  of  persons  with  political  influence  and  is 
often  made  the  cover  for  what  in  private  work  would  be  regarded 
as  a  downright  breach  of  trust. ^ 

^  See  also  ch.  vi,  f,  supra,  p.  57. 


72  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

b.   Work  that  should  he  done  by  contract 

More  important  even  than  the .  safeguards  surrounding  the 
letting  of  contracts,  more  important  at  least  from  the  standpoint 
of  economy,  is  the  necessity  of  curbing  the  tendency  to  maintain 
an  excessive  payroll  for  the  sake  of  doing  by  day-labor  work  which 
can  be  done  as  well  or  better  and  more  economically,  under  con- 
tracts properly  drawn  and  supervised.  There  is,  of  course,  a 
great  amount  of  municipal  work  which  can  only  be  done  by  day- 
labor,  and  in  many  cities  merely  this  class  of  work  is  done  by  the 
city  employees.  In  other  places  the  tendency  has  been  to  under- 
take much  more  than  this,  and  in  some  cities  the  day-labor  pay- 
rolls have  been  swollen  to  such  an  extent  as  seriously  to  impair  the 
efficiency  of  the  entire  municipal  service.  The  trouble  is  not 
only  that  these  employees  are  hired  upon  extra-commercial  and 
even  upon  extra-union-labor  terms  in  respect  of  wages  and  hours 
of  labor,  and  that  the  work  for  this  reason  costs  more  than  if  done 
by  responsible  contractors;  but  the  same  political  considerations 
which  bring  about  the  employment  of  these  men  lead  to  their 
retention  when  the  work  is  done,  and  to  their  being  carried  on  the 
payrolls  throughout  the  winter  and  at  other  times  when  there  is 
little  or  no  work  that  can  profitably  be  done  even  by  contract. 
The  system,  being  created  for  political  reasons,  must  be  admin- 
istered on  political  lines,  that  is,  for  votes;  and  this  leads  to  lack 
of  discipline  and  general  demoralization.  The  amount  wasted  in 
some  of  our  larger  cities  for  unproductive  city  labor,  that  is,  on 
payrolls  for  which  no  return  in  effective  work  is  given,  is  enor- 
mous,^  and  accounts  in  large  part  for  the  excessive  cost  and  poor 

1  The  reports  of  the  Boston  Finance  Commission  of  1907-1909  show  that  in  the 
year  1907  stone  crushed  by  city  laborers  cost  two  and  three-quarters  times  as  much 
as  if  bought  in  the  market  (i,  p.  212);  that  brick  laid  for  sewers  by  the  city  laborers 
cost  from  three  to  six  times  as  much  as  if  laid  by  contract  (i,  p.  267);  that  sewer 
construction  cost  twice  as  much  (ii,  p.  207);  and  that  the  collection  of  ashes  cost 
50%  more  than  if  done  by  contract  (ii,  p.  149).  Worse  than  this  was  the  discovery 
that  notwithstanding  an  increase  of  50%  in  the  number  of  city  laborers  between 
1895  and  1907,  the  amount  of  work  done  per  man  per  hour  was  only  one  half  what 
it  had  been  during  the  years  preceding  that  period  (ii,  p.  201).  See  these  reports 
passim  and  particularly  the  sxmimary  in  the  final  report  of  the  commission  (ii,  p.  201, 
seq.). 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  73 

condition  of  the  streets,  for  the  bad  management  of  water  works 
and  similar  enterprises,  for  the  perpetual  lack  of  money  for  schools, 
playgrounds,  sanitation  and  other  ever-present  needs.  It  leads 
also  to  corrupt  and  dangerous  dealings  with  the  electorate.  That 
some  of  the  special  privileges  enjoyed  by  city  laborers  are  justi- 
j&able,  and  that  some  city  work  can  best  be  done  by  day-labor 
notwithstanding  that  it  costs  more  than  by  contract,  may  be 
admitted;  but  there  is  no  genuine  labor  interest  that  should 
demand,  and  no  pubHc  interest  that  should  tolerate,  a  system 
which,  by  bestowing  improper  favors  upon  a  section  or  class  of 
the  laboring  population,  increases  the  cost  and  diminishes  the 
amount  of  municipal  service  for  all  the  rest.  The  root  of  this 
evil  is  nothing  but  partisan  or  personal  politics,  and,  Hke  other 
evils  of  like  origin,  may  to  some  extent  at  least  be  corrected  by 
legislation. 

The  charter  drafts  contain,  in  section  2  of  article  VIII,  an 
attempt  to  regulate  this  matter,  or  at  least  to  prohibit  the 
administrative  excesses  to  which  the  employment  of  labor  tends, 
by  prescribing  the  kind  of  work  which  must  be  done  by  contract 
and  the  kind  which  may  be  done  by  day-labor.  The  obvious 
line  to  draw  is  that  between  construction,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
maintenance  and  repairs  upon  the  other.  The  details  are  doubt- 
less capable  of  improvement;  but  it  is  hoped  that  this  section 
will  in  substance  commend  itself  to  our  legislators,  and  that  it  will 
prove  a  practical  corrective  of  the  evil  which  it  seeks  to  avoid. 
If  in  any  case  a  labor  force  exists  which  it  would  be  unfair  to 
abolish,  the  prohibition  can  be  Hmited  to  the  taking  on  of  new 
employees,  leaving  the  present  system  in  force  only  for  those 
already  on  the  payroll.  The  evil  would  in  this  way  rectify  itself 
in  a  short  time. 

c.  Prohibition  of  collusive  profits 

At  the  common  law  it  is  not  per  se  illegal  for  a  municipal  cor- 
poration to  contract  openly  with  its  members;  but  the  door  to 
favoritism  and  fraud  thus  opened  has  been  entered  so  frequently 
that  in  almost  all  the  states  such  transactions  have  been  pro- 
hibited by  statute. 


74  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

Much  more  difficult  is  the  effective  prohibition  of  secret  or 
collusive  dealings  between  members  of  the  city  government  and 
municipal  contractors  and  material  men. 

The  clause  contained  in  section  3  of  article  VIII  is  modeled 
upon  the  latest  Massachusetts  statute  ^  on  the  subject  with  such 
modifications  as  will  not  hamper  the  conduct  of  city  business 
simply  because  some  member  of  the  city  government  happens 
to  be  interested,  as  a  stockholder  or  otherwise,  in  a  contract  for 
materials  or  service.  A  penalty  for  the  violation  of  this  clause 
is  provided;  but  the  main  sanction  of  the  prohibition  is  to  be 
found  in  the  provision  that  the  contract  itself  may  at  any  time 
before  final  payment  be  avoided  by  the  courts  upon  petition  of 
the  mayor,  the  city  council,  or  the  taxpayers. 

d.   Interference  by  the  city  council  with  executive  work 

The  value  of  the  separation  between  the  legislative  and  exec- 
utive departments,  contemplated  by  the  responsible  executive 
type  of  charter,  will  be  largely  impaired  if  the  city  council  as  a 
body  can  by  vote  or  ordinance  control  the  executive  business  of 
the  city,  or  if  the  members  of  the  city  council  are  at  liberty  to 
exert  pressure  upon  the  department  officers  through  their  per- 
sonal influence.  Much  trouble  has  been  experienced  from  these 
two  sources  by  cities  which  have  adopted  this  type  of  charter, 
particularly  when  a  large  or  bicameral  city  council  has  been 
retained;  and  under  any  system  the  administrative  officers 
cannot  do  their  full  duty  if  subjected  to  the  constant  importunities 
of  every  one  who  has  a  voice  in  fixing  the  department  appro- 
priations and  salaries. 2  The  charter  draft  contains  a  prohibi- 
tion of  all  interference,  direct  or  indirect,  official  or  individual,  on 
the  part  of  the  city  council  or  its  members  with  the  work  of  the 

^  See  Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1909,  ch.  486,  sec.  8. 

2  For  the  difficulty,  lasting  over  twenty  years,  experienced  by  the  city  of  Boston 
in  enforcing  the  spirit  of  the  charter  amendments  of  1885  (ch.  266  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Acts  and  Resolves  of  that  year),  notwithstanding  the  prohibition  against  in- 
terference with  executive  work  contained  in  sec.  1 2,  see  the  writer's  Valedictory 
Address  as  Mayor  of  Boston,  printed  in  Matthews,  The  City  Government  of  Boston 
(Boston,  1895),  PP-  168-173,  and  the  Reports  of  the  Boston  Finance  Commission, 
1907-1909,  ii,  pp.  196-198. 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  75 

administrative  departments,  including  the  appointment  and 
removal  of  the  regular  employees,  the  employment  of  labor,  the 
making  of  contracts  and  the  purchase  of  supplies. 

The  charter  draft  vests,  however,  in  the  city  council  full 
concurrent  power  with  the  mayor  over  the  salaries  of  the  depart- 
ment and  division  heads,  and  all  appropriations  and  loans.  It 
also  gives  the  council  a  check  or  veto  power  over  certain  admin- 
istrative functions. 

e.    The  appropriations  not  to  he  exceeded 

A  frequent  source  of  extravagance  is  the  lack  of  respect  shown 
by  municipal  officers  for  the  appropriations  given  them  as  a 
limit  upon  expenditure.  The  practice  is  too  common  of  spending 
money,  sometimes  for  purely  political  purposes,  more  often  for 
objects  in  themselves  desirable,  in  excess  of  the  monthly  rate  of 
expenditures  warranted  by  the  appropriations,  relying  on  the 
deficit  being  made  good  by  the  appropriating  powers  before  the 
close  of  the  fiscal  year.  This  practice  can,  it  is  thought,  be  made 
difficult  and  dangerous,  if  not  entirely  done  away  with,  by  penaliz- 
ing every  intentional  experiment  of  the  sort  which  is  not  justified 
by  some  emergency.  A  clause  intended  to  accomplish  this  result 
will  be  found  in  section  5  of  article  VIII. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Administrative  Provisions  {continued)  —  The  Assess- 
ment OF  Taxes 

It  is  assumed  that  the  general  basis  and  subjects  of  taxation 
will  be  regulated  by  general  law,  presumably  on  uniform  lines 
throughout  the  state.  It  seems  also  probable  that  the  common 
American  practice  of  taxing  property  upon  its  capital  or  market 
value,  rather  than  on  its  income  or  annual  value,  will  be  adhered 
to,  at  least  in  so  far  as  real  estate  and  tangible  personal  property 
are  concerned. 

The  valuation  or  assessment  of  such  property  is,  however, 
an  administrative- judicial  function  generally  intrusted  to  local 
boards  of  assessors  composed  of  persons  who  are  seldom  qualified 
by  any  sufficient  experience  for  the  task,  and  who  are  often 
actuated  by  political  and  other  non- judicial  considerations.  The 
result  has  been  that,  although  the  statutes  almost  always  provide 
that  all  property  shall  be  assessed  at  its  fair  cash  or  market  value, 
the  greatest  differences  exist  in  the  different  states,  and  in  the 
different  cities  and  towns  of  each  state,  regarding  the  way  in 
which  these  valuations  are  reached.  A  vast  amount  of  dis- 
crimination, partiality  and  lack  of  intelligence  will  be  disclosed 
by  an  investigation  of  the  methods  of  assessment  in  almost  any 
city  in  the  country.  Sometimes  property  is  assessed  at  its  sup- 
posed cost,  sometimes  at  cost  of  reproduction,  sometimes  at  value 
to  the  owner,  sometimes  at  far  less  than  it  would  sell  for,  some- 
times for  more;  and  all  because  of  a  willful  or  ignorant  violation 
of  the  plain  statutory  injunction  to  take  the  actual  cash,  market 
or  sale  value  of  the  property.  Assessments  are  often  made 
unduly  low  for  some  reason,  more  or  less  politically  justifiable 
but  none  the  less  illegal,  such  as  the  desire  to  bring  manufacturers 
or  persons  of  wealth  into  the  town;  and  on  the  other  hand  assess- 
ments are  sometimes  deliberately  enhanced  to  make  a  lower  tax 
rate  or  to  provide  a  larger  borrowing  capacity.     Such  also  is  the 

76 


^ 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  77 

unconscious  result  of  some  of  the  methods  of  valuation  adopted, 
particularly  in  the  case  of  improved  real  estate. 

It  is  believed  that  some  at  least  of  these  evils  can  be  corrected, 
and  a  greater  uniformity  of  assessment  secured,  by  prescribing 
with  greater  particularity  than  is  generally  attempted  in  our 
tax  laws  the  methods  by  which  the  cash  or  market  value  of 
property  is  to  be  ascertained;  and  section  9  of  article  IX  is  an 
attempt  to  carry  out  this  idea  in  a  form  appropriate  either  to  a 
general  law  or  (as  here)  to  a  particular  city  charter. 

There  is,  first,  a  full  definition,  based  on  numerous  court 
decisions,  of  "  market  value  ";  by  following  which  the  assessors 
ought  to  have  no  difiiculty  in  avoiding  some  of  the  more  obviously 
untenable  ideas  which  sometimes  control  their  work,  such  as 
actual  cost  of  reproduction,  value  to  the  owner,  etc.,  tests  which 
may  result  in  figures  far  below  or  much  above  the  actual  market 
value  of  the  property. 

There  is  in  the  next  place  a  direction,  based  also  on  the  decisions 
of  the  courts,  for  ascertaining  the  value  of  improved  real  estate. 
In  most  of  the  states  such  property  is  divided  for  purposes  of 
assessment  into  land  and  buildings,  and  the  assessors  are  expected 
to  assess  separately  the  land  and  the  buildings,  or  to  give  one 
figure  for  the  land  and  another  for  the  land  with  the  buildings 
on  it.  The  main  object  of  these  laws  is,  of  course,  to  secure 
uniformity  in  the  assessment  of  the  land  and  to  avoid  discrimina- 
tion between  owners  of  adjacent  or  similar  lots.  This  object  is 
readily  accomplished  by  a  separate  valuation  of  the  land,  and 
there  is  usually  little  complaint  of  discrimination  in  land  valua- 
tions; though  in  many  places  there  may  be  a  systematic  under- 
assessment. The  separate  valuation  of  the  buildings  is,  however, 
a  very  different  matter.  Buildings  differ  from  one  another  in 
construction,  age,  condition  and  suitability  for  their  site;  and 
the  values  of  different  buildings  in  the  same  neighborhood  are 
seldom  comparable,  at  least  in  the  same  exact  sense  that  land  or 
site  values  are.  Moreover,  in  most  cases  the  buildings,  con- 
sidered independently  of  the  land  on  which  they  stand,  have  no 
actual  or  legal  value  whatever.  In  a  country  town  a  wooden 
frame  house  or  barn  situated  near  a  highway  may  have  a  certain 


78  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

cash  value  for  sale  and  removal;  but  this  is  hardly  ever  the  case 
with  a  brick,  stone  or  iron  structure.  The  separate  or  removal 
value  of  such  a  building  is  generally  only  its  demolition  value, 
and  that  is  usually  less  than  nothing.  Buildings  operate  to 
enhance  more  or  less  the  value  of  the  real  estate  considered  as  a 
whole,  but  in  most  cases  they  have  no  independent  value  of  their 
own.  Where  therefore  a  statute  directs  that  buildings,  machinery 
or  anything  else  attached  to  the  land  is  to  be  valued  separately 
the  amount  by  which  the  structures  enhance  the  market  value  of 
the  land  considered  by  itself,  is  intended,  —  not  their  original 
cost,  their  reproduction  cost,  their  removal  value  (unless  this 
is  greater  than  the  amount  by  which  they  increase  the  site  value), 
their  value  to  the  owner,  or  their  value  on  any  other  basis.  This 
has  been  repeatedly  decided  by  the  courts. 

The  failure  to  take  these  rather  elementary  considerations  into 
account  is  the  cause  of  much  of  the  dissatisfaction  with  assess- 
ments for  taxation.  Instead  of  estimating,  for  instance,  by  how 
much  the  price  the  owner  could  get  for  the  land  and  buildings 
exceeds  what  he  could  get  for  the  land  alone,  of  setting  down  the 
difference  as  the  value  of  the  buildings,  and  of  considering  the 
rents  and  profits  of  Uie  property  as  a  basis  for  estimating  its  sale 
value  in  its  entiret3«other  considerations,  such  as  the  cost  of  the 
buildings,  or  their  co^t  to  reproduce  —  factors  which  may  play 
an  important  part  in  the  rental  or  capital  value  of  the  property, 
but  may,  on  the  other  hand,  be  of  little  or  no  consequence  —  are 
used  as  the  sole  basis  for  valuing  the  building.)  This  figure  is 
then  added  to  the  value  of  the  land,  and  the  total  parcel  is 
assessed  at  a  sum  which  may  bear  no  relation  whatever  to  the 
actual,  economic,  or  legal  value  of  the  property  as  a  whole.  This 
stupid  and  illegal  method  of  assessment  is  altogether  too  common. 
It  is,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  responsible  for  most  of  the  over- 
valuations now  so  generally  complained  of,  where  these  are  not 
the  direct  result  of  a  violation  of  duty  for  political  reasons. 

It  would  seem  possible  to  avoid  these  inequalities  by  the  speci- 
fic directions  suggested  in  the  charter  drafts  to  take  income  into 
account,  and  to  treat  as  the  value  of  the  buildings  the  sum  by 
which  they  increase  the  market  value  of  the  land. 


CHAPTER  X 

Administrative  Provisions  {continued)  —  Accounts  and 

Reports 

The  extent  and  character  of  the  annual  reports  of  the  different 
departments  may  in  general  be  left  to  the  local  authorities. 
Opinions  differ  much  as  to  what  is  desirable  in  this  regard,  and 
it  would  be  difficult  to  draw  a  satisfactory  charter  provision  for 
general  use. 

There  is  one  report,  however,  concerning  the  necessity  for 
which,  and  for  its  comprehensiveness  and  accuracy,  there  can  be 
no  question.  This  is  the  annual  report  of  the  financial  transac- 
tions of  the  city.  That  these  transactions  should  be  printed 
annually  in  complete,  accurate  and  convenient  form,  every  one 
will  agree;  but  there  is,  unfortunately,  no  respect  in  which 
municipal  practice  is  more  varied  or  defective  than  this,  and  if 
the  subject  is  left  entirely  to  the  local  authorities  it  may  or  may 
not  be  handled  properly.  Hence,  in  drafting  a  model  charter, 
every  effort  should  be  made  to  see  if  provisions  cannot  be  devised 
which  will  insure  the  pubhcation  annually  of  a  report  disclosing 
in  concise  form,  in  sufficient  but  without  excessive  detail,  and  with 
absolute  accuracy,  all  the  financial  business  of  the  city  during 
the  preceding  year,  together  with  corresponding  data  for  previous 
years. 

The  first  thing  to  do  would  seem  to  be  to  draw  up  a  Hst  of  the 
topics,  information  concerning  which  the  annual  report  of  the 
city  auditor  should  contain.  The  list  in  section  7  of  article  IX 
will  be  found,  it  is  believed,  to  include  all  the  data  needed  for  a 
general  understanding  of  the  present  condition  and  past  manage- 
ment of  the  finances  of  the  average  city.  If  in  any  particular 
case  other  data  are  required  they  can  easily  be  inserted  in  this 
section  of  the  charter;  and  the  details  of  the  report  can  be  left 
to  the  auditor  for  the  time  being.     The  important  thing  is  to 

79 


8o  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

have  the  main  financial  data  in  available  book  form  for  in- 
spection and  comparison;  and  experience  has  shown  that  this 
end  will  not  be  attained  if  the  matter  is  left  wholly  to  the  local 
authorities. 

Another  advantage  in  statutory  provisions  for  the  annual 
financial  reports  of  cities  is  that  by  this  means  comparisons 
between  the  different  cities  of  the  state  are  facilitated.  Some 
states  have  attempted  to  enforce  a  uniform  system  of  municipal 
accoimting,  but  the  schemes  hitherto  selected  have  not  been 
responsive  to  the  legal  or  practical  requirements  of  the  case,  and 
are  not  capable  of  exclusive  use.  Most  of  the  "  uniform  sys- 
tems "  of  municipal  accounting  invented  by  state  or  federal 
ofl&cials,  including  the  series  devised  by  the  United  States  Census 
Bureau,  divide  the  receipts  and  expenses  by  economic  subjects; 
whereas  a  division  by  administrative  departments  is  what  is 
legally  and  practically  necessary  for  actual  administrative  pur- 
poses.^ Where,  however,  such  a  system  exists  the  auditor's 
annual  report  should,  it  would  seem,  contain  a  recast  of  the 
financial  operations  of  the  year  in  the  statutory  form;  and  a  clause 
to  this  effect  has  accordingly  been  inserted  in  section  7. 

A  provision  is  also  inserted  for  a  statement  of  the  loans,  if  any, 
issued  by  the  state,  or  county,  or  any  other  pubHc  body,  which  are 
charged  in  part  or  wholly  upon  the  city,  but  which  do  not  figure 
in  the  nominal  city  debt  because  not  directly  issued  by  the  cor- 
poration. In  some  states  public  improvements  of  more  or  less 
magnitude  are  financed  in  this  way,  and  the  loans  represent  in 
effect  a  local  debt;  but  the  opportunity  for  statistical  juggling 
thus  created  has  proved  too  great  to  be  resisted,  and  in  one  state 
at  least  loans  of  this  character  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  over 
$75,000,000  are  entirely  lost  sight  of  as  municipal  obligations. 

*  Many  of  the  distinctions  and  definitions  in  these  systems  are,  moreover, 
extremely  artificial,  difficult  of  comprehension,  and  often  economically  unsound. 
For  barbarous  terminology  and  unintelligent  definitions  the  pubhcations  of  the 
United  States  Census  Bureau  set  an  advanced  standard.  There  is  little  difficulty, 
however,  in  recasting  in  condensed  form  the  annual  receipts  and  expenditures  of  a 
city  so  as  to  conform  to  the  requirements  of  any  uniform  system  that  may  be 
adopted  by  the  state;  and  the  advantage  for  statistical  purposes  in  doing  so  is 
obvious.     See  also  ch.  vi,  a,  supra,  pp.  50-52. 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  8 1 

They  are  omitted  both  in  the  state  reports  and  the  federal  census 
from  the  aggregate  of  either  state  or  municipal  loans. ^ 

^  This  is  persistently  done  with  the  metropolitan  debts  in  Massachusetts.  These 
are  essentially  municipal  debts  because  payable,  both  principal  and  interest,  in  the 
first  instance  by  the  cities  and  towns  within  the  metropolitan  district.  Each  town 
and  city  within  the  district  is  burdened  with  a  proportionate  part  of  these  debts 
(now  amounting,  net,  to  about  $60,000,000) ;  but  nothing  indicates  that  fact  in  any 
statement  of  municipal  indebtedness  prepared  by  either  the  city,  state  or  fec/eral 
authorities.  For  a  further  explanation  of  the  kind  of  annual  financial  reports  con- 
templated by  the  charter  drafts  the  reader  is  referred  to  Part  III,  notes  65  to  68, 
and  to  the  discussion  of  the  subject  in  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Administrative  Provisions  {continued)  —  Management 
OF  Water,  Gas,  Electric  Light  and  Similar 
Municipal  Enterprises 

No  department  of  municipal  administration  has  given  rise  to 
more  criticism  and  dissatisfaction,  both  in  this  country  and  in 
England,  than  that  which  has  to  do  with  the  management  of  those 
commercial  or  income-producing  enterprises  which  in  their  earlier 
stages  quite  generally,  and  at  all  times  quite  commonly,  are 
operated  by  private  corporations,  but  which  on  the  other  hand 
are  very  frequently  taken  over  and  administered  upon  pubUc 
account. 

The  motives  for  public  ownership  are  various.  Sometimes,  as^ 
in  the  case  of  turnpikes  and  ferries,  private  operation  becomes 
unremunerative  or  unprogressive,  and  the  property  is  acquired  by 
the  public  with  full  knowledge  that  it  must  be  operated  at  a  loss, 
or  thrown  open  to  general  use  without  charge.  Sometimes,  as 
generally  in  the  case  of  markets  and  water  supply,  the  object  is 
partly  to  bring  about  a  reduction  of  cost  to  the  consumer,  and 
partly  to  secure  improvements  and  public  benefits  which  are  too 
costly  to  be  attractive  to  private  capital.  In  other  cases,  as 
commonly  when  private  gas  or  electric  works  have  been  acquired 
by  the  pubUc  authorities,  the  sole  purpose  appears  to  be  to  make 
money  for  the  city,  or  to  save  it  for  the  consumer,  through  the 
increased  profits  which  municipal  operation  is  expected  to  realize. 
Often  a  mixture  of  these  motives  exists,  and  others  not  mentioned 
may  be  present.  Street  railways,  the  telephone  system,  subways, 
printing  plants,  and  other  forms  of  business  or  productive  enter- 
prise have  also  not  infrequently  been  taken  over,  or  first  estab- 
lished, imder  municipal  ownership  or  management. 

So  far  as  results  go,  the  public  benefits  expected  have,  partic- 
ularly in  the  case  of  turnpikes,  markets  and  water  works,  gen- 

8a 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  83 

\' 
erally  been  realized  in  the  form  of  better  service;  but  the  financial 

expectations,  especially  with  respect  to  gas,  electric  light  and 
street  railway  enterprises,  have  not  been  fulfilled,  and  in  cases  too 
numerous  to  mention  the  works  have,  under  municipal  control, 
been  scandalously  mismanaged.  The  frauds,  corruption,  and 
excessive  waste  and  debt  incident  to  the  misuse  of  the  public 
funds  in  connection  with  these  quasi-commercial  undertakings 
have  led  to  many  municipal  investigations  and  to  much  correc- 
tive legislation;  but  it  cannot  be  said  that  municipal  works  of 
this  character  are  at  the  present  time  in  this  country  (or,  in  fact, 
anywhere  else)  on  the  whole  managed  in  a  sound,  economical  or 
wholesome  manner.  The  opportunities  for  personal  or  political 
dishonesty  are  great,  and  the  temptation  to  operate  the  works 
not  from  revenue  but  by  taxation,  or  worse  yet  by  borrowed 
money,  and  to  conceal  the  fact  by  misleading  accounts  and  re- 
ports, has  proved  almost  irresistible.  There  are  probably  not 
more  than  two  or  three  municipal  gas  or  electric  Hght  plants  in 
the  country  which  would  not  be  shown,  upon  a  proper  analysis  of 
their  financial  management,  to  be  operated  at  a  loss,  or  by  means 
of  loans  increasing  faster  than  the  value  of  the  works.  The  case 
of  the  commonest  and  most  justifiable  field  for  municipal  manage- 
ment, the  installation  and  operation  of  a  public  water  supply, 
does  not  stand  much  better;  for  while  the  physical  product  is 
generally  superior  to  that  which  could  be  expected  from  private 
management,  the  cost,  both  for  operation  and  capital  outlay,  is 
usually  far  greater  than  necessary;  many  of  the  financial  methods 
resorted  to  are  utterly  inconsistent  with  sound  administration; 
and  the  true  cost,  as  well  as  the  way  in  which  the  money  for 
extensions  is  really  obtained,  is  generally  concealed  by  deceptive 
bookkeeping.  Ultimately,  of  course,  the  rates  must  be  far  higher, 
or  the  contributions  from  taxes  much  more,  than  would  have  been 
necessary  under  conservative  and  honest  management. 

This  state  of  affairs  is  well  known  to  everyone  who  has  had 
occasion  to  inspect  the  plant,  investigate  the  service,  consider 
the  cost,  or  overhaul  the  accounts  of  municipal  water,  gas,  electric 
light  and  similar  enterprises;  but  to  most  persons  a  thorough- 
going reform  has  seemed  to  be  a  very  difficult  accompHshment. 


84  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

The  general  taxpayers  are  busy  about  other  things;  the  rate- 
payers as  a  class  are  personally  interested,  or  think  they  are,  in 
obtaining  low  rates  at  the  expense  of  the  tax  levy  or  the  debt;  and 
the  professional  poHticians  find  their  greatest  opportunities  in  the 
mismanagement  of  municipal  enterprises  of  this  sort.  The  state 
authorities  are  reluctant  to  interfere  in  a  matter  which  appears  to 
concern  the  local  finances  only,  and  remedial  legislation  on  the 
subject  has  generally  proved  inadequate.  And,  lastly,  the  sub- 
ject is  so  easily  obscured  by  false  methods  of  accounting  as  to 
postpone  the  reaHzation  of  the  evil  until  it  is  almost  beyond 
remedy.  The  final  result  is  sometimes  an  ignominious  surrender 
of  the  work  to  some  private  corporation;  but  more  frequently  a 
gradual  and  indefinite  expansion  of  the  city  debt  with  Httle  or 
nothing  to  show  for  it. 

Some  progress  has,  however,  been  made  in  recent  years  in  the 
direction  of  a  more  or  less  effective  state  control  over  the  acquisi- 
tion and  management  of  municipal  works  of  the  character  here 
imder  consideration,  and  conspicuous  instances  of  good  manage- 
ment upon  pubHc  account  and  with  popular  approval  are  not 
wanting. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  writer  the  reform  of  these  functions  of 
municipal  management  is,  in  the  present  state  of  pubHc  opinion, 
a  much  easier  result  to  bring  about  —  at  least  so  far  as  future 
operation  is  concerned  —  than  are  some  of  the  equally  necessary 
reforms  in  the  general  administration  of  the  city  affairs;  and  it  is 
more  Hkely  to  last  because  the  amounts  spent  for  construction  by 
the  department  having  charge  of  the  city's  water,  gas,  or  similar 
property,  are  relatively  large,  and  the  economies  and  other  bene- 
fits which  will  follow  a  rigid  compliance  with  sound  financial 
methods  will  be  conspicuous  and  easily  appreciated. 

In  the  first  place  it  is  not  difficult  to  devise  methods  which  will 
enable  the  taxpayers  to  prevent  absolutely  the  borrowing  of 
money  to  cover  a  deficit  in  operating  expenses  or  to  make  good 
the  depreciation  of  the  works.  These  are  two  of  the  worst  results 
of  municipal  management  as  commonly  practiced;  and  they  can 
be  avoided  without  impairing  the  power  of  the  city  government 
for  the  time  being  to  contribute  as  much  as  it  pleases  toward  the 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  85 

support  of  the  works  from  the  revenues  and  taxes  of  the  year. 
The  prohibition  of  loans  for  current  expenses,  the  setting  aside 
of  sufficient  sums  to  pay  the  outstanding  sinking  fund  loans  as 
they  mature,  the  issue  of  all  future  loans  in  serial  form,  and  the 
fixing  of  relatively  short  maximum  terms  of  maturity,  these  and 
the  other  provisions  of  article  VII,  if  apphed  to  the  business 
enterprises  of  the  city,  will  effectually  put  a  stop  to  the  extrava- 
gant use  of  the  borrowing  power  which  has  in  so  many  cases  run 
these  enterprises  into  hopeless  debt;  and  the  provisions  of  the 
charter  make  it  possible  for  any  ten  taxpayers  to  enforce  these 
rules  by  appeal  to  the  courts. 

Another  frequent  result  of  municipal  mismanagement,  the 
gradual  depreciation  in  efficiency  of  the  plant  due  to  inadequate 
contributions  from  revenue,  can  be  avoided  by  providing  that  a 
fixed  minimum  sum,  approximately  equal  to  the  annual  deprecia- 
tion, shall  each  year  be  set  aside  from  the  revenues  of  the  works, 
or  from  taxes,  and  put  into  a  fund  to  be  used  for  extensions  and 
improvements ;  and  by  providing  that  the  rates  charged  shall  be 
high  enough  to  cover,  with  the  appropriations  if  any  from  taxes, 
the  entire  annual  expense  for  operation,  interest,  debt  payments 
and  depreciation.  A  compHance  with  these  provisions  can  be 
secured  by  taxpayers'  petitions  to  the  courts,  or  preferably  and 
more  quickly,  through  the  machinery  of  the  state  board  which  has 
jurisdiction  over  the  rates  charged  by  private  companies. 

Economy  and  honesty  in  the  actual  work,  particularly  in  the 
more  important,  because  more  costly,  work  which  is  in  the  nature 
of  construction,  will  be  secured,  or  at  least  greatly  aided,  through 
the  provisions  of  article  VI  respecting  the  mode  of  appointing  the 
managers  of  the  works,  and  the  provisions  of  article  VIII  respect- 
ing the  letting  and  execution  of  municipal  contracts. 

Finally,  as  there  is  no  excuse  for  the  deceptive  methods  of 
bookkeeping  which  are  responsible  for  a  large  part  of  the  waste 
and  debt  incident  to  municipal  ownership,  there  ought  to  be  no 
effective  opposition  to  laws  which  shall  force  municipal  corpora- 
tions engaged  in  commercial  enterprises  to  keep  proper  books  and 
to  render  correct  annual  accounts,  so  that  both  the  city  officials 
and  the  voters  may  be  able  to  ascertain  at  any  time,  and  at  the 


86  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

end  of  the  year  to  see  at  a  glance,  just  what  use  has  been  made  of 
the  loans  issued  for  the  works,  and  just  what  is  the  amount  of  the 
true  annual  loss  which  must  be  made  good  from  taxes. 

The  charter  drafts  accordingly  provide  in  article  X,  section  9, 
for  a  system  of  accounts  by  which,  on  the  one  hand,  the  full  actual 
annual  cost,  including  operation,  depreciation  and  all  payments 
on  account  of  the  interest  and  principal  of  the  outstanding  debt, 
is  charged  up  as  annual  expense;  by  which,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
annual  income  of  the  works  is  credited  and  the  other  departments 
charged  with  the  payment  —  in  cash  out  of  their  regular  appro- 
priations —  of  the  full  commercial  value  of  the  service  rendered 
to  these  departments;  and  by  which  the  net  resulting  deficit,  if 
any,  to  be  made  good  by  appropriations  from  taxes,  is  correctly 
ascertained  and  pubUcly  reported.  The  precise  methods  by 
which  it  is  sought  to  carry  out  these  ideas  are  set  out  in  the 
charter  drafts  and  explained  more  in  detail  in  the  Notes. 

Two  rather  fundamental  questions  remain  for  consideration. 
The  first  relates  to  the  terms  on  which  municipal  ownership  may 
originally  be  permitted,  and  the  other  to  the  extent  to  which  such 
enterprises  shall  be  supported  by  general  taxation. 

It  is  customary  to  prescribe  that  municipal  enterprises  which 
would  come  in  competition  with  private  companies  shall  be  under- 
taken, in  the  first  instance,  only  upon  certain  conditions  intended 
to  secure  deliberation  on  the  part  of  the  city  authorities  and  fair 
treatment  to  the  companies  involved.  The  first  object  is  in 
some  states  secured  by  requiring  a  vote  of  the  city  authorities  for 
two  successive  years;  sometimes  by  requiring  affirmative  action 
on  the  part  of  the  voters  after  a  vote  of  the  city  government;  and 
sometimes  by  a  referendum  to  property-holders.  Various  com- 
binations of  these  devices  are  also  found  in  the  general  laws  or 
special  statutes  relating  to  the  subject.  A  property  vote  is  of 
course  a  great  safeguard  against  the  hasty  and  ill-advised  acquisi- 
tion of  a  pubHc  utility;  but,  in  conformity  with  the  views 
expressed  in  chapter  III,  this  particular  device  is  ignored,  and  the 
preference  given  to  a  double  vote  of  the  mayor  and  city  council 
subject  to  a  referendum  at  a  special  election.  The  writer 
beUeves  that  adequate  protection  against  the  ill-advised  adoption 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  87 

of  a  program  of  municipal  ownership  will  be  afforded  by  a 
special  referendum  and  by  requiring  prior  to  the  election  a  report 
from  the  state  board  having  jurisdiction  over  the  rates  and 
capitalization  of  private  companies  engaged  in  similar  business. 
Deliberation,  expert  advice,  full  publicity,  and  a  special  election 
on  the  question  presented,  are  probably  better  safeguards  to  the 
real  interests  of  the  people  than  reliance  on  a  veto  by  property- 
owners.  The  vote  should  be  at  a  special  election,  or  it  might  as 
well  be  dispensed  with  altogether,  as  experience  has  shown  that 
the  vote  at  a  general,  state  or  municipal  election  upon  complicated 
questions  of  municipal  policy  is  apt  to  be  most  unsatisfactory. 
As  often  as  not  it  is  the  reverse  of  what  it  would  be  if  only  those 
who  had  studied  the  question  voted  on  it,  or  if  all  who  did  vote 
had  understood  the  subject.  A  special  election  brings  to  the 
polls  all  those  who  know  and  care  enough  about  the  question  to 
give  their  votes  any  value  as  a  guide  to  the  real  popular  will. 
In  cities  too  large  for  a  special  referendum  the  report  of  a  board 
of  experts  will  be  the  main  reliance  against  injudicious  haste  by 
the  mayor  and  city  council ;  and  such  a  report  will  be  of  use  in  the 
case  of  cities  of  any  size. 

As  to  the  protection  to  be  accorded  to  existing  corporations 
whose  business  will  be  interfered  with,  and  possibly  ruined,  by 
municipal  competition,  legislative  practice  is  also  varied.  In 
rare  instances  a  municipal  plant  has  been  authorized  without 
regard  of  any  sort  to  private  interests.  In  most  cases  the  acquisi- 
tion of  the  private  company's  property  and  franchises  by  eminent 
domain  has  been  insisted  on;  but  in  recent  years  a  plan  has  been 
evolved  and  put  into  more  or  less  successful  operation  for  giving 
the  private  company  the  option,  in  the  event  of  the  estabHshment 
of  a  municipal  plant,  of  disposing  of  its  own  property  to  the  city 
at  its  fair  value  exclusive  of  franchises.' 

^  This  scheme  originated  in  England  where  it  has  been  applied  in  special  cases  to 
water  supply  companies  and  by  general  law  to  other  public  service  corporations. 
In  Massachusetts  the  legislature  made  use  of  this  idea  in  several  statutes  authoriz- 
ing the  establishment  of  municipal  water  works  by  particular  cities;  and  by  the 
general  laws  of  1891  and  1893  applied  the  scheme  to  municipal  gas  and  electric 
hghting  plants.  Connecticut  adopted  the  Massachusetts  system,  but  unfortunately 
used  the  act  of  189 1  as  a  model,  not  the  better-drawn  measure  of  1893.     All  these 


88  ^  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

The  scheme  worked  out  in  article  X  is  based  upon  the  idea  that 
the  interests  of  the  private  individuals  or  corporations  whose 
business  is  interfered  with  will  be  sufl&ciently  considered  if  they 
are  given  an  option  to  sell  their  physical  plant  and  intangible 
rights  of  the  property,  such  as  easements  in  real  estate,  at  the 
fair  value  of  the  property  in  use  without  enhancement,  direct  or 
indirect,  on  account  of  earnings  or  of  rights  in  the  public  streets 
or  of  other  franchises  unless  and  then  only  to  the  extent  that  these 
have  been  paid  for  in  cash.  The  details  of  this  part  of  the  charter, 
which  in  a  matter  of  this  sort  are  most  important,  are  founded 
on  the  experience  of  the  writer  as  counsel  for  one  side  or  the 
other  in  a  considerable  number  of  valuation  or  condemnation 
cases  to  which  municipal  ownership  statutes  have  given  rise  in 
the  past  twenty-five  years. 

The  provisions  of  the  charter  drafts  relating  to  municipal  trad- 
ing are,  in  so  far  as  original  acquisition  goes,  confined  to  the  three 
common  cases  of  water,  gas  and  electric  light  and  power.  Muni- 
cipal ferries,  markets  and  subways  are  much  less  common,  and  it 
did  not  seem  wise  to  extend  the  charter  by  including  drafts  of 
mimicipal  franchises  for  these  activities. 

As  to  whether  or  not  the  revenue-producing  investments  of 
municipal  corporations  should  be  operated  for  profit,  or  upon  a 
merely  self-supporting  basis,  or  should  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
receive  aid  from  the  tax  levy,  the  provisions  of  law  differ  greatly; 
but  in  practice  very  few  of  them  will  be  found  to  be  actually 
operated  without  loss,  and  fewer  yet  at  an  annual  profit.  As  the 
writer  looks  at  this  problem  it  is  more  important  that  the  exact 
annual  loss  in  operation  should  be  accurately  ascertained  and 
published  and  actually  made  good  from  the  taxes,  instead  of  being 
met  directly  or  indirectly  by  the  issue  of  loans,  than  it  is  to  see 
that  the  enterprise  is  carried  on  exclusively  by  its  own  revenues 
without  contribution  from  the  taxes.  Moreover,  in  some  munici- 
pal undertakings  such  as  ferries,  it  is  often  impossible  to  operate 
satisfactorily  without  loss.     In  other  cases  such  as  water,  gas, 

statutes,  however,  both  English  and  American,  are  drawn  very  loosely,  especially 
in  the  clauses  which  fix  the  amount  to  be  paid;  and  they  have  given  rise  to  a  great 
amount  of  litigation.     See  also  ch.  v,  e,  supra,  pp.  47-48,  and  Part  III,  note  75. 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROVISIONS  89 

electric  light  and  subway  undertakings,  there  would  seem  to  be 
no  reason  why  the  rates  should  not  be  maintained  at  a  figure 
sufficient  to  pay  the  entire  annual  cost  properly  computed.  This 
is  the  general  theory  of  the  legislation  on  the  subject,  and  is 
adopted  as  the  basis  of  the  provisions  of  the  charter  drafts  in  this 
book  respecting  the  management  of  such  enterprises.  It  is 
believed,  moreover,  that  these  provisions  will  be  found  adequate 
in  practice  to  accomplish  the  purpose  in  view,  which  is  more  than 
can  be  said  of  most  municipal  ownership  statutes. 

No  critic  of  the  plan  recommended  in  the  charter  drafts,  by 
which  the  entire  annual  cost  properly  computed  is  to  be  met 
from  rates,  and  the  surplus,  if  any,  put  into  the  plant,  need  fear 
that  it  will  cause  a  too  rapid  amortization  of  the  city  debt;  and 
no  supporter  of  the  plan  had  better  cherish  the  illusion  of  a  rapidly 
vanishing  debt.  The  legitimate  demands  for  expenditures  upon 
public  account  which  must  be  met  by  loan  increase  faster  than  the 
population,  faster  perhaps  than  the  wealth  of  the  community.^ 
Taking  the  debt  of  a  city  as  a  whole,  there  is  little  likelihood 
of  any  reduction,  and  none  at  all  of  too  rapid  a  reduction. 

1  See  further  Part  III,  note  89,  pp.  200-201. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Conclusion 

Although  the  object  of  the  writer  has  been  rather  to  prepare 
a  practical  handbook  of  municipal  charter-making  than  to  engage 
in  a  discussion  of  political  theory,  a  few  closing  words  of  general 
conmient  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

The  bad  government  which  is  due  to  the  election  of  corrupt  or 
inefl&cient  men  to  office  is  largely  irremediable  by  law,  but  it  can 
be  avoided  to  some  extent,  or  made  less  frequent,  by  the  adoption 
of  a  political  system  which  faciUtates  an  intelHgent  choice  by  the 
electorate  and  is  thus  suited  to  the  requirements  of  popular  suf- 
frage. All  that  has  been  attempted  in  the  poUtical  provisions  of 
the  charters  drafted  for  this  book  is  to  apply  to  mimicipal  govern- 
ment in  the  simplest  and  most  direct  form  the  essential  principles 
of  representative  democracy  as  worked  out  in  this  country  during 
the  past  century  and  a  quarter. 

On  the  other  hand  the  bad  government  which  is  due  to  defec- 
tive administration  can  in  great  measure  be  avoided  by  the  com- 
pulsory adoption  of  sound  business  methods. 

No  law  or  set  of  laws,  whether  grouped  in  a  charter  or  scattered 
through  the  statutes,  can  guarantee  effective,  economical,  and 
progressive  city  government;  but  it  can  readily  be  demonstrated 
by  the  experience  of  the  past  fifty  years  that  a  very  large  percen- 
tage of  the  wrongs  done  to  the  people  of  our  cities  by  their  officials 
would  have  been  avoided  if  correct  methods  of  administration  had 
been  compelled  by  law.  A  properly  drawn  charter  will  prevent 
many  of  the  grosser  forms  of  extravagance  and  corruption;  it  will 
reduce  the  lesser  wastes  under  inefficient  officers;  and  it  can  be  so 
drawn  as  to  allow  full  scope  for  the  efforts  and  abilities  of  efficient 
officials  when  these  happen  to  be  elected. 

Bearing  in  mind  these  objections  and  Hmitations  the  task  of 
drawing  a  workable  city  charter  is  rendered  at  once  both  difficult 

and  easy  by  the  vast  volume  of  experience  accumulated  during 

90 


CONCLUSION  91 

the  past  half-century  by  towns  and  cities  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  easy  because  nearly  every  device  for  the  improvement  of 
municipal  administration  which  poUtical  ingenuity  can  suggest 
has  been  tried  in  one  form  or  another,  not  only  once  but  many 
times,  in  this  country,  and  under  conditions  not  essentially  dis- 
similar to  those  which  affect  any  American  community  for  which 
a  charter  is  to  be  drawn.  It  is  difficult  also  because  of  this  very 
abundance  of  material,  much  of  which  is  accessible  only  to  the 
diligent,  and  all  of  which  requires  interpretation  in  the  hght  of  the 
special  laws  and  conditions  of  the  particular  community  involved. 

Close  contact  with  mimicipal  affairs  for  twenty-five  years  has 
led  the  writer  to  believe  strongly  that  the  surest  way  to  secure 
practical  and  immediate  improvement  in  a  city  government  is  to 
make  intelHgent  use  of  this  American  material  and  experience 
rather  than  to  copy  foreign  precedents  or  to  assume  that  an 
entirely  new  and  speculative  system  must  be  invented.  While 
municipal  government  in  the  United  States  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  promising  fields  of  public  law  now  open  to  the 
legislator,  and  while  progress  in  it  must,  as  in  other  branches  of 
knowledge,  depend  upon  constant  experimentation,  it  presents 
nevertheless  a  very  limited  opportunity  for  the  exploitation  of 
social  philosophy,  or  the  application  of  foreign  precedents. 

Ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  questions  which  arise  in  municipal 
government  are  questions  of  business  administration  rather  than 
of  political  policy,  and  while  the  main  problem  is  not  so  much  to 
keep  down  expenses  and  taxes  as  to  secure  without  excessive 
waste  the  service  demanded  of  our  cities  by  a  progressive  age  and 
people,  this  itself  is  a  question  of  sound  finance  rather  than  a 
question  of  social  ethics  or  doctrinaire  politics.  The  increasing 
compKcations  and  requirements  of  modem  city  life  will  doubtless 
lead  to  progressively  larger  expenditures  by  municipal  corpora- 
tions, but  the  aggregate  amount  of  money  which  in  any  com- 
munity or  age  can  be  expended  upon  public  account  without 
harm  to  all  is  limited  by  conditions  over  which  the  lawmaker  has 
no  control.  The  pressure  upon  the  city^s  financial  resources  of 
the  increasing  numbers  who  prefer  urban  to  rural  life,  and  whose 
social  and  moral  welfare  must  be  provided  for  in  great  part  by 


92  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

contributions  from  the  public  treasury,  can  only  be  met  by  the 
most  rigid  rules  for  securing  efficiency  in  the  expenditure  of  the 
heavy  taxes  necessitated  by  these  conditions.  To  secure  the 
maximum  amount  of  pubHc  service  for  a  given  and  reasonable 
amoimt  of  public  money  is,  therefore,  the  real  problem  of  munici- 
pal administration.  ^  The  solution  of  this  problem  is  not  to  be 
advanced  by  shutting  our  eyes  to  the  successes  and  failures  of 
American  city  government  during  the  past  fifty  years,  or  by 
adopting  new  and  radically  different  methods,  whether  borrowed 
from  the  experience  of  foreign  cities  under  entirely  different  con- 
ditions, or  invented  by  socialist  unbeKevers  in  the  capacity  of  our 
people  for  representative  government.  Bearing  in  mind  that  the 
ultimate  aim  in  drawing  a  city  charter  should  be  to  secure  a 
practical  working  scheme  of  administration,  and  remembering 
the  accumulated  experience  to  which  we  now  have  a  more  or  less 
troublesome  access,  the  last  thing  we  should  do  is  to  adopt 
revolutionary  suggestions  for  the  political  constitution  of  the 
city  until  they  have  been  thoroughly  tested  by  actual  experience 
imder  similar  conditions.  Admitting,  as  we  must,  that  the  mis- 
takes and  poor  results  of  municipal  government  in  this  country 
are  largely  due  to  the  adoption  of  political  machinery  unsuited 
to  the  motive  power,  the  way  to  improve  this  machinery  is  to 
examine  carefully  why  and  where  it  has  failed  and  then  to  mend 
it  in  the  Kght  of  this  information,  not  to  throw  it  away  and  sub- 
stitute some  different  mechanism  borrowed  from  the  shorter  or 
still  more  unsuccessful  experiments  of  other  times  and  countries. 

Above  all,  the  poUtical  features  of  a  city  charter,  whatever  they 
be,  should  not  be  allowed  to  overshadow  or  imperil  the  operation 
of  the  more  important  provisions  relating  to  the  administration 
of  the  city  business.  These  are  of  far  greater  consequence  than 
the  political  constitution  of  a  city;  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
writer,  much  of  the  extravagance,  waste  and  inefficiency  of  city 
government  as  commonly  practiced  in  this  country  is  due  to  a 
failure  to  recognize  this  fact.  Hundreds  of  city  charters  have 
brought  disappointment  to  their  authors  because  the  adminis- 
trative provisions  have  been  inadequate.  Others,  containing 
sound  administrative  details,  have  been  wrecked  in  application 


CONCLUSION  93 

because  some  inconsistent  political  feature  has  been  thoughtlessly 
inserted.  Many  a  charter  draft  prepared  with  skill  and  knowl- 
edge, has  been  so  amended  by  a  hestitating  legislature  as  to  be 
wholly  ineffective.  Simplicity  of  political  structure  accom- 
panied by  thoroughness  in  the  administrative  details,  must  be  the 
basis  of  charter  reform. 

The  drafts  represented  in  this  book  have  been  prepared  in 
accordance  with  these  principles  to  the  best  of  the  writer's  ability, 
but  with  no  illusion  on  his  part  that  they  are  either  perfect  or 
complete. 


PART  II 
CHARTER  DRAFTS 


CHARTER   DRAFTSt 
A.    RESPONSIBLE   EXECUTIVE  TYPE 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Article  I.    General  Provisions 

1.  Definitions. 

2.  Incorporation. 

3.  Organization. 

4.  Municipal  and  fiscal  years. 

5.  Repeal  of  laws  and  ordinances. 

Article  II.    Nominations  and  Elections 

1.  General  provisions. 

2.  The  regular  municipal  election. 

3.  Vacancies  and  special  elections. 

4.  Nominations,  withdrawals  and  substitutions. 

5.  Form  of  nomination  papers. 

6.  Call  for  elections. 

7.  Form  of  ballot. 

Article  III.    The  Mayor 

1.  Election  and  compensation. 

2.  Qualification. 

3.  General  administrative  powers. 

4.  Power  over  acts  of  the  city  council. 

5.  Vacancies  and  succession. 

6.  The  acting  mayor. 

Article  IV.    The  City  Council 

1.  Election  and  compensation. 

2.  Organization. 

3.  Proceedings. 

4.  Powers  of  the  council  subject  to  action  by  the  mayor. 

5.  Powers  of  the  council  and  its  members  independent  of  action 

by  the  mayor. 

6.  Vacancies. 

X  The  small  superior  numbers  in  Part  II  refer  to  the  notes  constituting  Part  III 
of  this  book. 

97 


98  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

Article  V.    The  School  Committee 

1.  Election  and  compensation. 

2.  Organization. 

3.  Proceedings. 

4.  Officers  and  employees. 

5.  General  powers. 

6.  Vacancies. 

Article  VI.    Organization  of  the  Executive  Departments 

1.  Departments,  divisions,  officers  and  employees. 

2.  Terms  of  office  and  compensation. 

3.  Appointments. 

4.  Removals  and  suspensions. 

5.  Vacancies  and  temporary  appointments. 

Article  VII.    Appropriations,  Taxes  and  Loans 

1.  General  provisions. 

2.  The  annual  estimates. 

3.  The  annual  budget. 

4.  Expenditures  pending  passage  of  the  budget. 

5.  Transfers. 

6.  The  tax  levy. 

7.  Interest  on  unpaid  taxes. 

8.  Purposes  for  which  money  may  be  borrowed. 

9.  Periods  for  which  money  may  be  borrowed. 

10.  Requirements  of  loan  orders. 

11.  Form  of  loans  and  mode  of  payment. 

12.  Loans  in  anticipation  of  taxes. 

13.  Sinking  funds  and  premiums. 

14.  Debt  Kmit. 

15.  Approval  by  state  board. 

Article  VEIL    General  Rules  for  the  Conduct  of  Business 

1.  Contracts,  purchases  and  leases. 

2.  Work  that  must  be  done  by  contract. 

3.  Collusive  profits. 

4.  Moneys  belonging  to  the  city. 

5.  Appropriations  not  to  be  exceeded. 

6.  Payment  for  salaries,  wages,  materials  and  work. 

7.  Payment  of  claims. 

8.  Records  and  accounts. 

Article  IX.    Duties  of  Particular  Departments 

1.  General  provisions. 

2.  Law  department. 

3.  PubHc  safety  department. 

4.  Public  works  department. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  99 

5.  Penal  institutions  department. 

6.  Treasury  department. 

7.  Accounting  department. 

8.  Recording  department. 

9.  Assessing  department. 

10.  Licensing  department. 

11.  Election  department. 

12.  Public  charities  department. 

13.  Public  library  department. 

Article  X.    Municipal  Property 

1.  Property  used  for  ordinary  municipal  purposes. 

2.  Property  used  for  business  enterprises. 

3.  Establishment  of  water,  gas  or  electric  works. 

4.  Acquisition  of  existing  plants. 

5.  Management  of  the  municipal  works. 

6.  The  construction  fund. 

7.  Rates  to  private  customers. 

8.  Jurisdiction  of  state  board. 

9.  Accounts. 

10.  Acquisition  and  management  of  other  business  enterprises. 

11.  Proprietary  interests  of  the  city. 

12.  Trust  funds. 

Article  XI.    Enforcement 

1.  Penalties. 

2.  Petitions. 

3.  Special  investigations. 

Article  XII.    Enactment 


lOO 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


AN  ACT  TO  REVISE  THE  CHARTER  OF  THE  CITY 

OF  * 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  [Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in 
General  Court  assembled] f  as  follows: 

Article  I.     General  Provisions 

Definitions  SECTION  i .  The  following  words  and  phrases  where  used 
in  this  act  shall,  unless  a  contrary  intention  clearly  appears, 
have  the  following  meanings  respectively: 

The  word  "  article  "  followed  by  a  Roman  numeral  shall 
mean  that  one  of  the  main  divisions  of  this  act  entitled 
articles  which  is  indicated  by  the  numeral. 

The  phrase  ''  regular  municipal  election  "  shall  mean  the 
annual  election  of  municipal  officers  for  which  provision  is 
made  in  section  two  of  article  11. 

The  phrase  "  mayor  and  city  council  "  shall  mean  the 
mayor  and  city  council  of  the  city  of elected  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  article  II  and  their  successors 

acting  on  and  after  January ,  19 — ,  under  the  provisions 

of  section  four  of  article  III. 

The  words  "  officer,"  "  officers,"  and  "  administrative 
officers "  when  used  without  further  quaUfication  or 
description  shall  mean  any  person  or  persons  in  charge 
of  any  department  or  division  of  the  city  business,  as  pro- 
vided in  section  one  of  article  VI. 

The  said  words  when  used  in  contrast  to  a  board  or  mem- 
bers of  a  board  or  to  division  heads  shall  mean  any  of  the 
persons  in  sole  charge  of  a  department  as  provided  in  sec- 
tion one  of  article  VI. 

The  word  "  ordinance  "  shall  mean  a  vote  or  order  of  the 
mayor  and  city  council  entitled  "  ordinance  "  and  designed 
for  the  permanent  regulation  of  any  matter  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  mayor  and  city  council  as  laid  down  in 
this  act. 

The  phrase  "  civil  service  commission  "  shall  mean  the 
state  board,  if  any,  having  charge  of  the  selection  or  ap- 


Article 


Regular 

municipal 

election 


Mayor  and 
city  council 


Officer 


Ordinance 


Civil  service 
commission 


ter. 


*  or  "  An  act  creating  the  city  of "  if  the  act  is  to  serve  as  an  original  char- 

t  Massachusetts  style. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  -  ; , ,     ioi 

pointment  of  the  non-elective  officials  or  employees  of  the 
state  or  any  division  thereof. 

The  word  "  court  "  shall  mean  the court  for  the  Court 

county  in  which  the  city  of is  situated,  or  any  justice 

thereof,  with  such  rights  of  review  or  appeal  as  may  exist 
or  be  provided  by  law. 

The   words    "  taxable   inhabitants  "  shall   mean   legal  Taxable 
voters  of  the  city  who  have  been  assessed  a  tax  on  real       ^     ^^  ^ 
estate  at  the  last  assessment  for  purposes  of  taxation. 

The  words  in  the  margin  of  this  act  and  the  table  of  con-  Margin  and 
tents  shall  be  printed  as  a  part  of  the  act;  but  the  said  mar-  contents  ^ 
ginal  words  and  table  shall  be  understood  to  have  been 
inserted  for  convenience  merely  and  shall  not  be  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  act. 

Section  2.     The  inhabitants  of  [the  city  of]* shall  Incorpora- 

be  and  continue  to  be  a  body  politic  and  corporate  under  °^ 
the  [same  name],*  and,  except  as  herein  provided,  shall 
have  and  enjoy  all  the  rights,  privileges  and  property  now 
vested  in  or  conferred  upon  the  [city]*  and  be  subject  to 
all  the  duties  and  obligations  to  which  the  [city]*  is  now 
subject. 

Section  3.     On  and  after  the  first  Monday  in  January  Organiza- 

in  the  year  nineteen  hundred  and the  government  of    ^° 

the  city  shall  be  vested  in  the  mayor,  the  city  council,  the 
school  committee,  and  the  officers  and  boards  for  whom 
provision  is  made  in  this  act,  and  shall  be  conducted  in 
accordance  with  the  terms  thereof. 

All  powers  now  vested  by  general  or  special  law  in  the 
mayor,  in  the  mayor  and  aldermen,  or  mayor  and  city 
council,  in  the  board  of  aldermen  or  city  council,  in  the 
school  committee,  or  in  any  officer  of  the  city  shall,  unless 
hereby  repealed,  be  exercised  by  the  mayor,  by  the  mayor 
and  city  council,  by  the  city  council,  by  the  school  com- 
mittee, or  by  the  officers  and  boards  for  which  provision  is 
made  in  this  act  in  the  manner  and  subject  to  the  condi- 
tions and  limitations  herein  prescribed;    and  any  such 

*  Use  this  language  for  an  amended  city  charter.  If  the  charter  is  enacted  for  a 
community  not  already  a  city  different  language  should  be  used  in  this  section  and 
in  sections  three  and  five  of  this  article. 


I02 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Municipal 
and  fiscal 
years' 


powers  not  herein  repealed  or  specifically  vested  in  the 

mayor,  city  council,  school  committee  or  officers  and  boards 

of  the  city,  shall  be  exercised  by  the  mayor  and  city  council. 

The  term  of  office  of  every  person,  however  elected  or 

appointed,  who  shall  be  an  officer  of  the  city  on  the 

day  of  January,  19 — ,  shall  expire  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  fore- 
noon of  the  following  day;  but  all  such  officers,  except  the 
mayor  and  the  members  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  common 
council  and  school  committee,!  shall  continue  to  discharge 
their  respective  duties  and  to  draw  compensation  at  the 
rates  then  estabUshed,  until  they  resign  or  their  successors 
have  been  appointed  and  have  quahfied. 

Section  4.  The  municipal  year  shall  begin  and  end  at 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  first  Monday  in  January 
in  each  year. 

The  fiscal  year  19 —  shall  begin  on  the  first  day  of , 

19 — ,  and  end  on  the  thirty-first  day  of  December,  19 — .% 
Thereafter  the  fiscal  year  shall  begin  on  the  first  day  of 
January  in  each  year  and  end  on  the  thirty-first  day  of 
December  next  following. 

Section  5.  All  acts  and  parts  of  acts  specifically  appli- 
cable to  the  city  and  inconsistent  with  this  act  are  hereby 
repealed,  and  no  general  statutes  or  parts  thereof  incon- 
sistent with  this  act  shall  hereafter  apply  to  the  city.  All 
by-laws  and  ordinances  of  the  city  inconsistent  with  this 
act  are  hereby  annulled.  All  acts,  by-laws  and  ordinances 
not  inconsistent  with  this  act  are  continued  in  force  until 
altered,  amended,  repealed  or  annulled. 

The  repeal  of  acts  and  of  general  statutes  or  parts  there- 
of and  the  annulment  of  by-laws  and  ordinances  shall  not 
affect  any  act  done  or  any  right  accruing  or  accrued,  or  any 
offense  committed,  or  any  penalty  or  forfeiture  incmred, 

t  This  exception  should  include  and  be  confined  to  the  mayor  and  legislative 
branches  of  city  government  howsoever  constituted  at  the  passage  of  the  charter. 

X  This  clause  is  to  cover  any  change  effected  by  the  charter  in  the  fiscal  year.  If, 
for  instance,  the  present  fiscal  year  runs  from  December  i  to  November  30,  this 
clause  should  be  filled  out  so  that  the  first  fiscal  year  under  the  charter  would  be 
thirteen  months  long.  If  the  present  fiscal  year  begins  January  i  the  first  sentence 
in  the  second  paragraph  and  the  word  "  Thereafter  "  at  the  beginning  of  the  last 
sentence  should  be  omitted. 


Repeal  of 
laws  and 
ordinances 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  IO3 

under  the  acts,  statutes,  by-laws  or  ordinances  hereby  re- 
pealed or  annulled,  or  any  civil  suit  or  proceeding  then 
pending,  or  any  prosecution  then  pending  for  any  offense 
committed  or  for  the  recovery  of  any  penalty  or  forfeiture 
previously  incurred. 

No  act  or  general  statute  or  part  thereof,  and  no  by-law 
or  ordinance,  heretofore  repealed  or  annulled,  shall  be  re- 
vived by  the  repeal  and  annulment  hereinbefore  provided 
unless  such  revivor  is  clearly  intended  in  this  act. 

Article  II.     Nominations  and  Elections^ 

Section  i.     The  mayor,  the  members  of  the  city  council.  General 
and  the  members  of  the  school  committee  shall  be  elected  ^^^^ 
by  the  voters  of  the  city  qualified  by  general  law  to  vote 
for  such  municipal  officers  respectively;    and,  except  as 
herein  provided,  the  general  laws  applicable  to  the  nomi- 
nation and  election  of  such  officers  shall  apply. 

Section  2.    The  first  election  imder  this  act  shall  be  held  The  regular 

on  the day  of  December,  19 — ,  when  there  shall  be  Section  < 

elected  a  mayor,  seven  members  of  the  city  council  and 
five  members  of  the  school  committee.  The  mayor  thus 
elected  shall  hold  ofiice  for  three  years  from  the  first  Mon- 
day in  January,  19 — ,  and  the  three  candidates  for  the 
council  receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  shall  hold 
office  for  three  years,  the  two  receiving  the  next  highest 
number  of  votes  shall  hold  office  for  two  years,  and  the 
two  receiving  the  next  highest  number  of  votes  shall  hold 
office  for  one  year.  The  candidate  for  school  com- 
mittee receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  shall  hold 
office  for  five  years,  the  candidate  receiving  the  next 
highest  number  of  votes  shall  hold  office  for  four  years, 
the  candidate  receiving  the  next  highest  number  of  votes 
shall  hold  office  for  three  years,  the  candidate  receiving 
the  next  highest  number  of  votes  shall  hold  office  for  two 
years,  and  the  candidate  receiving  the  next  highest  number 
of  votes  shall  hold  office  for  one  year. 

Thereafter  a  regular  or  annual  municipal  election  shall 
be  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  of  De- 
cember in  each  year,  when  there  shall  be  elected  one  mem- 


I04  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

ber  of  the  school  committee  for  a  five-year  term,  and  for 
three-year  terms  either  two  or  three  members  of  the  city 
council  according  to  the  number  of  members  whose  terms 
expire  that  year.  At  such  regular  elections  vacancies  shall 
be  filled  as  provided  in  section  three  of  this  article;  and 
every  third  year  a  mayor  shall  be  elected  for  a  term  of 
three  years.  All  said  terms  shall  begin  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  January  following  the  election. 

Vacancies  Section  3.  A  vacancy  shall  be  deemed  to  occur  in  the 
electiwis  6  office  of  mayor,  in  the  city  council  or  in  the  school  com- 
mittee if  the  incumbent  dies,  resigns  or  is  declared  by  the 
court  upon  petition  of  the  mayor,  the  city  soHcitor  or  the 
city  council  to  be  permanently  incapacitated  for  the  per- 
formance of  his  official  duties.  A  vacancy  shall  also  be 
deemed  to  exist  if  at  any  election  for  mayor  or  a  single 
member  of  the  city  council  or  school  committee  there  is  a 
tie  in  the  votes  for  the  two  leading  candidates,  or  if  at  any 
election  for  two  or  more  members  of  the  city  council  or 
school  committee  it  is  impossible  by  reason  of  a  tie  vote  to 
determine  who  is  elected. 

A  vacancy  in  the  office  of  mayor  occurring  more  than 
six  months  after  a  regular  municipal  election  shall  be  filled 
for  the  remainder  of  the  term  at  the  next  regular  municipal 
election;  and  at  the  election  last  referred  to  any  vacancies 
then  existing  in  the  city  council  or  school  committee  in  re- 
spect of  persons  who  have  been  elected  for  terms  extending 
beyond  the  mimicipal  year  shall  also  be  filled. 

If,  however,  a  vacancy  occurs  in  the  office  of  mayor  dur- 
ing the  first  six  months  after  a  regular  municipal  election, 
a  special  election  shall  be  held  within  sixty  days  at  which 
a  mayor  shall  be  elected  to  serve  for  the  remainder  of  the 
term;  and  if  during  said  period  of  six  months  and  more 
than  sixty  days  before  the  special  election  a  vacancy  occurs 
not  only  in  the  office  of  mayor,  but  also  in  the  city  council 
or  the  school  committee,  said  vacancy  in  the  city  council 
or  the  school  committee,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  also  be 
filled  at  said  special  election  for  the  remainder  of  the  term. 

Section  4.  All  nominations  for  mayor,  city  council  or 
school  committee  shall  be  by  nomination  papers  signed  by 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  lOS 

qualified  voters  of  the  city  equal  in  number  to  three  per  Nomina- 
cent  of  the  number  of  voters  registered  at  the  next  pre-  drawairand 
ceding  regular  municipal  election,®  and  filed  with  the  board  substitu- 
of  election  commissioners  for  which  provision  is  made  in 
article  VI  at  or  before  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
twenty-fifth  day  prior  to  the  election,  provided  such  signa- 
tures to  the  number  required  are  certified  by  the  com- 
missioners as  hereinafter  provided. 

If  a  candidate  dies  before  the  election  or  withdraws  or 
is  found  to  be  ineligible  the  vacancy  may  be  filled  by  a 
committee  of  not  less  than  five  persons,  or  a  majority 
thereof,  if  such  committee  is  named  and  so  authorized  in 
the  nomination  papers. 

The  names  of  candidates  appearing  on  nomination  papers 
shall,  when  filed,  be  a  matter  of  public  record;  but  the 
nomination  papers  shall  not  be  open  to  public  inspection 
until  after  certification.  After  such  nomination  papers 
have  been  filed,  the  commissioners  shall  certify  thereon  the 
number  of  valid  signatures  which  are  the  names  of  regis- 
tered voters  in  the  city  qualified  to  sign  the  same.  They 
need  not  certify  a  greater  number  of  names  than  are  re- 
quired to  make  a  nomination,  with  one-fifth  of  such  number 
added  thereto.  All  nominations  not  supported  by  a  num- 
ber of  names  so  certified  equivalent  to  the  number  required 
to  make  a  nomination  shall  be  invalid.  The  commission- 
ers shall  complete  such  certification  on  or  before  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  on  the  sixteenth  day  preceding  the 
election.  Such  certification  shall  not  preclude  any  voter 
from  filing  objections  to  the  validity  of  the  nomination. 
All  withdrawals  and  objections  to  such  nominations  shall 
be  filed  with  the  commissioners  on  or  before  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  on  the  fourteenth  day  preceding  the 
election.  All  substitutions  to  fill  vacancies  caused  by 
death,  withdrawal  or  ineligibility  shall  be  filed  with  the 
commissioners  on  or  before  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
on  the  twelfth  day  preceding  the  election. 

Every  voter  may  sign  nomination  papers  for  as  many 
candidates  for  each  office  as  there  are  persons  to  be  elected 
thereto,  and  no  more. 


io6 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Form  of 

nomination 

papers 


Section  5.  The  nomination  papers  shall  be  in  the  fol- 
lowing form: 

All  nomination  papers  must  be  filed  with  the  Election 
Commissioners  at  or  before  five  o'clock  p.m.,  November 

,  19— 

City  of  

nomination  paper 

The  imdersigned,  registered  voters  of  the  City  of  


qualified  to  vote  for  a  candidate  for  the  ofiice  named  below, 
make  the  following  nomination  of  candidates  to  be  voted 

for  at  the  election  to  be  held  in  the  City  of  on 

December  — ,  19 — . 


Nai£e  of  Candidate 
Give  first  or  middle  name  in  full 

Office  for  which 
Nominated 

Residence 
Street  and  number,  if  any 

I. 

2. 

3- 

4- 

5- 

6. 

etc. 

We  certify  that  we  have  not  subscribed  to  more  nomi- 
nations of  candidates  for  this  office  than  there  are  persons 
to  be  elected  thereto. 

In  case  of  death,  withdrawal,  or  incapacity  of  any  of 
the  above  nominees,  we  authorize  the  following  com- 
mittee of  not  less  than  five  persons  or  a  majority  thereof 
as  our  representatives  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  manner 
prescribed  by  law. 

NAMES   OF   COMMITTEE   OF   NOT   LESS   THAN   FIVE   PERSONS 


Names  of  Coumittee        Residence 


Names  of  Committee       Residence 


CHARTER  DRAFTS 


107 


SIGNATURES  AND  RESIDENCES   OF  NOMINATORS 


Signatures  of  Nominators 

To  be  made  in  person,  with  full 

surname,  Christian  name,  and 

initial  of  every  other  name 

Residence 
at  last  registration 

Ward 

Pre- 
cinct 

Residence 
at  present  time, 
with  street  and 
number,  if  any 

I. 

2. 

3- 

4- 

5. 

etc. 

ACCEPTANCE   OF   NOMINATION 

I  hereby  accept  the  within  nomination. 


3- 
etc. 


AFFIDAVITS   TO   NOMINATION   PAPERS 

(Name  of  State) 
(Name  of  County),  ss.  (Name  of  City),  - 


19- 


Then  personally  appeared who,  I 

am  satisfied,  is  one  of  the  signers  of  the  within  nomination 
paper,  and  made  oath  that  the  statements  therein  con- 
tained are  true  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief, 

and  that  his  postofhce  address  is 

Before  me, 


Justice  of  the  Peace. 


CERTIFICATION   BY   ELECTION   COMMISSIONERS 


(Name  of  City), 


19— 


We   certify   that of   the   within 

signatures  are  names  of  registered  voters  in  the  City  of 

quahfied  to  sign  this  nomination  paper. 

Board  of 
Election  Commissioners 
of. 


io8 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


CaUfor 
elections 


Form  of 
baUot^ 


Section  6.  Elections  shall  be  called  by  the  commis- 
sioners at  least  thirty  days  before  the  date  set  for  the  same, 
and  notice  thereof  shall  be  advertised  in  one  or  more  news- 
papers published  in  the  city.  At  least  eight  days  before 
the  election  the  commissioners  shall  cause  sample  ballots, 
printed  on  paper  of  different  color,  but  otherwise  identical 
with  the  ballot  to  be  used  at  the  election,  to  be  posted  con- 
spicuously at  each  of  the  voting  places. 

Section  7.  The  following  form  of  ballot  shall  be  used 
at  municipal  elections: 


To  vote  for  a  person  mark  a  cross  X  in  square  at  right  of  name  and  residence. 
If  you  wrongly  mark,  tear,  or  deface  a  ballot,  return  it  and  obtain  another. 

For  MAYOR  (3  years) 
Vote  for  ONE 

For  SCHOOL  COMMITTEE 
(S  years)       Vote  for  ONE 

John  Smith          17  Grove  St. 

;    Lemuel  Lee            78  Spring  St. 

James  Jones         27  Pine  Ave. 

:    George  Wensel      64  Broadway 

Henry  Reed           3  Oak  Sq. 

i    Susan  Goodwin     43  CorUand  PL 

For  CITY  COUNCIL  (3  years) 
Vote  for  TWO  [or  THREE] 

Mark  a  Cross  X  in  the  square  at 
the  right  of  your  answer. 

Charles  Doam     42  Aftel  St. 

Alfred  Adams        6  Auburn  Ave. 

Richard  Roe      107  Johnson  PL 

:    Shall  the  City  of issue 

:    bonds    to    the    amount    of 
\    $50,000  for  the  purchase  of  a 
:    schoolhouse  site  in  ward — ? 

YES 

Frank  Collins      74  Broadway 

NO 

Walter  BaUot    226  West  Fifth  St. 

:    Shall  licenses  be  granted  for 
:    the     sale     of     intoxicating 
:    liquors  in  this  city  ? 

YES 

NO 

No  party  designations  or  any  words  or  symbols  whatso- 
ever descriptive  of  or  relating  to  the  candidates  except 
words  setting  forth  their  place  of  residence  shall  appear 
upon  the  ballot. 

The  names  of  candidates  shall  appear  upon  the  ballot  in 
the  order  determined  by  the  commissioners  by  lot  at  a 
drawing  of  names  at  which  each  candidate  or  his  repre- 
sentative shall  have  an  opportunity  to  be  present. 

There  shall  be  left  at  the  end  of  each  Ust  of  candidates 
for  the  different  offices  as  many  blank  spaces  as  there  are 
candidates  to  be  voted  for,  in  which  the  voter  may  write 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  I09 

or  place  the  names  of  persons  not  printed  on  the  ballot  for 
whom  he  desires  to  vote. 

Questions  relating  to  the  granting  of  licenses  for  the  sale  Form  of 
of  intoxicating  Hquors  shall  appear  on  the  ballot  in  the 
form  hereinabove  noted.  The  questions  provided  for  in 
section  six  of  article  VII  and  section  three  of  article  X  shall 
appear  on  the  ballot  in  the  form  set  forth  in  said  sections 
respectively.  If  any  other  question  is  to  appear  upon  the 
ballot  the  commissioners  shall  advertise  the  form  in  which 
the  question  is  to  be  printed  in  two  or  more  daily  papers 
published  in  the  city  on  two  or  more  days  at  least  twenty 
days  before  the  election.  At  any  time  not  later  than  the 
sixteenth  day  before  the  election  ten  taxable  inhabitants 
of  the  city  may  petition  the  court  for  a  revision  of  the  form 
of  the  question,  and  the  court,  upon  a  summary  hearing, 
of  which  the  commissioners  shall  have  notice,  shall  not 
later  than  the  twelfth  day  before  the  election  determine  in 
what  form  the  question  shall  be  printed  upon  the  ballot  in 
order  that  the  voters  may  be  fairly  informed  as  to  the 
meaning  of  the  question.  The  commissioners  shall  cause 
the  question  to  appear  upon  the  ballot  in  the  form  thus 
determined  by  the  court. ^ 

The  reverse  of  the  ballot  shall  contain  the  title  "  Official  Reverse  of 
Ballot,"  followed  by  the  name  of  the  city,  number  of  the 
ward  and  of  the  precinct,  the  date  of  the  election  and  fac- 
simile signatures  of  the  commissioners. 

Article  III.     The  Mayor 

Section  i.     The  mayor  shall  be  nominated  and  elected  Election 
in  the  manner  provided  in  article  II.  pensation 

He  shall  receive  a  compensation  of thousand  dol- 
lars per  annum. 

Section  2.  The  mayor  elected  at  a  regular  municipal  9"*^^^" 
election  shall  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  first 
Monday  in  January  following  the  election,  or  as  soon 
thereafter  as  may  be,  be  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of 
his  duties  by  the  city  clerk,  or,  in  his  absence,  by  a  justice 
of  the  peace. 

A  mayor  elected  at  a  special  election  shall  be  thus  sworn 
at  any  time  thereafter. 


no  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

^^^^^_  Section  3.  The  mayor  shall  be  the  chief  executive 
tive  powers^  officer  of  the  city.  He  shall  have  the  powers  and  be  sub- 
ject to  the  duties  in  this  act  provided,  and  he  shall  have 
such  further  powers  and  be  subject  to  such  further  duties, 
,  not  inconsistent  with  this  act,  as  may  from  time  to  time  be 
prescribed  by  law  or  ordinance.  He  shall  have  general 
supervision  of  the  administration  and  business  of  the  city, 
and  shall  see  that  the  laws  applicable  to  the  city,  including 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  ordinances  of  the  city  and  the 
orders  of  the  administrative  officers  and  boards  are  duly 
enforced. 

The  mayor  may  at  any  time,  in  person  or  through  an 
officer  or  division  head,  or  a  member  of  a  board,  attend  and 
address  the  city  council  or  the  school  committee  upon 
such  subject  as  he  may  desire,  but  shall  have  no  vote  in 
either  of  said  bodies. 

All  legal  processes  against  the  city  shall  be  served  upon 
the  mayor  by  leaving  copies  thereof  at  his  office  in  the  city 
hall  and  by  making  due  returns  thereof. 

Power  over  Section  4.  Every  ordinance  and  vote  of  the  city  council 
ciVcoun-^  which  involves  the  appropriation,  expenditure  or  borrow- 
cil  ^°  ing  of  money,  or  the  raising  of  taxes,  shall  be  presented  to 

the  mayor,  and  shall  take  effect  upon  his  approval  in  writ- 
ing within  fifteen  days  after  the  receipt  thereof.  If  before 
the  next  meeting  of  the  council  after  said  period  of  fifteen 
days  he  fails  to  return  the  ordinance  or  vote  with  his  objec- 
tions thereto  in  writing,  the  said  ordinance  or  vote  shall 
take  effect  in  the  same  manner  as  if  he  had  approved  it 
within  said  period  of  fifteen  days.  If  within  said  period 
or  at  any  time  before  the  next  meeting  of  the  council  after 
the  expiration  of  said  period  the  mayor  returns  the  ordi- 
nance or  vote  to  the  council  with  his  objections  thereto  in 
writing,  it  shall  be  void.  If  the  total  amount  of  money 
to  be  appropriated,  expended,  borrowed  or  raised  by  such 
ordinance  or  vote  is  divided  into  items,  the  mayor  may 
approve  some  of  them  and  disapprove  the  others,  and  may 
approve  some  items  for  a  reduced  amount;  and  such  items 
as  are  approved  in  their  entirety  and  the  reduced  amount 
of  such  items  as  are  reduced  shall  be  in  force,  while  the 


Money 
votes 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  III 

items  and  parts  of  items  which  are  disapproved  shall  be 
void. 

Every  ordinance  and  vote  of  the  city  council  which  does  Other  votes 
not  involve  the  appropriation,  expenditure  or  borrowing  of 
money  or  relate  to  the  internal  affairs  of  the  council,  or 
to  matters  which  are  within  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of 
the  city  council  under  section  five  of  article  IV,  shall  be 
presented  to  the  mayor,  and  shall  take  effect  upon  his 
approval  of  the  same  in  writing  within  fifteen  days  from 
the  receipt  thereof.  If  before  the  next  meeting  of  the 
council  after  said  period  of  fifteen  days,  he  fails  to  return 
the  ordinance  or  vote  to  the  council,  together  with  his 
objections  thereto  in  writing,  the  said  ordinance  or  vote 
shall  take  effect  in  the  same  manner  as  if  he  had  approved 
it  within  said  period  of  fifteen  days.  If  within  said  period 
or  at  any  time  before  the  next  meeting  of  the  council  after 
the  expiration  of  said  period,  the  mayor  returns  the  ordi- 
nance or  vote  with  his  objections  thereto  in  writing  to  the 
council,  the  latter  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  upon 
its  records  and  shall  again  consider  it;  and  if  five  members 
of  the  council  vote  to  pass  the  ordinance  or  vote,  notwith- 
standing the  mayor's  objections,  the  same  shall  be  in  force. 

Section  5.  Whenever  a  vacancy  as  defined  in  section  Vacancies 
three  of  article  II  shall  occur  in  the  office  of  mayor,  the  city  gj^j^  u 
soHcitor  shall  be  mayor  and  shall  have  all  the  powers  and 
perform  the  duties  of  the  office  and  shall  receive  the  com- 
pensation attached  to  the  ofiice,  until  the  vacancy  is  filled 
in  the  manner  provided  in  said  article.  If  the  office  of  city 
solicitor  is  then  vacant  the  chairman  of  the  city  council 
shall  be  mayor  under  the  same  conditions  until  the  vacancy 
in  the  office  of  mayor  is  filled  as  aforesaid. 

Section  6.  During  the  temporary  absence  or  disability  The  acting 
of  the  mayor  the  city  soHcitor  or,  if  he  also  is  absent  or  dis-  ^^^^^ 
abled,  the  chairman  of  the  city  council  shall  act  as  mayor 
pro  tempore,  shall  be  called  the  acting  mayor,  and  shall  serve 
without  special  compensation  for  such  service.  He  may 
approve  the  pay-rolls,  suspend  any  officer  over  whom  the 
mayor  has  the  power  of  removal,  exercise  the  power  of 
making  temporary  appointments  vested  in  the  mayor  by 


112 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


section  five  of  article  VI,  and  exercise  the  powers  and  per- 
form the  duties  of  the  mayor  in  matters  of  urgency  not  ad- 
mitting of  delay.  He  shall  not  have  the  power  of  making 
permanent  appointments  or  the  power  of  removal  or  the 
power  to  approve  or  sign  deeds,  bonds,  contracts  and  other 
documents  requiring  the  approval  of  the  mayor,  or  the 
power  to  approve  or  disapprove  the  ordinances  and  votes 
of  the  city  council;  provided,  however,  that  if  the  absence 
or  disability  of  the  mayor  continues  for  more  than  fifteen 
days,  and  he  is  unable  to  approve  documents  requiring  his 
approval,  or  to  approve  or  disapprove  the  acts  of  the  city 
council,  the  acting  mayor  may  exercise  the  powers  of  the 
mayor  in  this  regard. 


Election 
and 

compensa- 
tion 


Organiza- 
tion's 


Article  IV.     The  City  Council 

Section  i.  The  city  council  shall  consist  of  seven  per- 
sons, who  shall  be  nominated  and  elected  in  the  manner 
provided  in  article  II.  They  shall  serve  without  compen- 
sation. 

Section  2.  The  city  council  shall  meet  at  ten  o'clock  in 
the  forenoon  of  the  first  Monday  in  January  of  each  year 
and  the  newly  elected  members  shall  be  sworn  to  the  faith- 
ful discharge  of  their  duties  by  the  city  clerk,  or,  in  his 
absence,  by  a  justice  of  the  peace.  If  any  member-elect  be 
absent  the  oath  of  office  may  be  administered  to  him  in 
like  manner  at  any  time  thereafter. 

At  said  meeting,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be,  the 
council  shall  be  called  to  order  by  the  member  eldest  in 
years  of  those  present,  and  he  shall  preside  until  the  coun- 
cil, by  vote  of  a  majority  of  all  the  members,  chooses  by 
ballot  one  of  its  members  as  chairman.  The  chairman 
shall  be  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties  by 
the  city  clerk,  or,  in  his  absence,  by  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  shall  have  the  right  to  vote  on  any  question,  and  may 
at  any  time  be  removed  by  the  affirmative  vote,  taken  by 
yeas  and  nays,  of  five  members  of  the  city  council.  In 
case  of  the  absence  of  the  chairman  the  member  eldest  in 
years  shall  preside,  and,  in  case  of  the  death,  resignation  or 
removal  of  the  chairman,  the  member  eldest  in  years  shall 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  II3 

preside  until  a  successor  is  elected  and  sworn  in  the  manner 
provided  above. 

Members  elected  at  a  special  election  shall  be  sworn  at 
any  time  thereafter. 

Section  3.     The  council  shall  determine  its  own  rules  of  Proceedings 
procedure;  but  it  shall  sit  with  open  doors,  whether  act- 
ing as  the  city  council  or  in  committee  of  the  whole. ^* 

Regular  meetings  of  the  council  shall  be  held  at  such 
times  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  ordinance,  provided  that 
at  least  one  regular  meeting  shall  be  held  every  thirty-one 
days. 

Special  meetings  may  be  called  at  any  time  by  the  city 
clerk  at  the  request  in  writing  of  the  mayor  or  of  three 
members  of  the  council,  provided  that  notice  be  given  as 
prescribed  by  ordinance. 

The  attendance  of  members  may  be  secured  in  such 
manner  and  by  such  penalties  as  may  be  provided  by 
ordinance. 

Except  as  otherwise  herein  provided  four  members  of 
the  council  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction 
of  all  business,  but  a  less  number  may  adjourn  from  time 
to  time. 

All  acts  of  the  council,  whether  entitled  votes,  orders  or 
ordinances,  shall  be  in  the  form  of  written  or  printed  votes.^^ 
All  votes  relating  to  the  appropriation,  expenditure  or 
borrowing  of  money  shall  be  taken  by  yeas  and  nays  upon 
a  call  of  names,  and  this  method  of  voting  shall  be  adopted 
for  any  question  if  it  is  requested  by  any  member. 

A  journal  of  the  proceedings  of  each  meeting  shall  be 
kept  by  the  city  clerk,  shall  be  open  to  public  inspection, 
and  a  duly  attested  copy  thereof  shall  be  published  within 
seven  days  after  each  meeting  in  some  newspaper  pub- 
lished in  the  city.  All  communications  from  the  mayor 
shall  be  entered  at  large  upon  the  journal. 

Section  4.     The  council  shall  have  power  subject  to  Powers  of 
action  by  the  mayor  as  provided  in  section  four  of  article  ^bjecUo^ 
III  and  to  the  other  provisions  of  this  act  to  appropriate,  action  by 
borrow  and  transfer  money  for  any  lawful  purpose;  to  lay  "^®™^yor" 
out,  widen  and  extend  public  streets,  parks,  playgrounds, 


114  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

General  bridges;  to  acquire  by  purchase  or  taking  such  real  estate 
powers  ^g  j^^y  ^^  required  for  the  lawful  use  of  any  department  of 
the  city  government  including  the  public  schools;  to  author- 
ize the  sale  by  the  commissioner  of  property  or  any  real 
estate  belonging  to  the  city  not  used  or  required  by  any 
department;  to  compromise  and  settle  claims  and  suits 
against  the  city;  to  authorize  the  construction  and  use  in, 
under  or  over  the  public  streets,  of  vaults,  coal-holes,  bay- 
windows,  balconies,  roofs,  cornices,  signs,  posts  and  other 
encroachments  for  the  benefit  of  the  owners  of  adjoining 
real  estate;  to  authorize,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
state  board  hereinafter  referred  to,  persons  and  corpora- 
tions to  lay,  construct,  maintain,  repair  and  use  pipes, 
conduits,  manholes,  poles,  wires,  rails  and  other  machin- 
ery in,  under  or  over  the  pubHc  streets,  for  the  distribution 
to  the  city  or  to  private  customers  of  water,  gas,  electricity, 
air,  steam  or  other  fluids,  or  for  the  transportation  of 
passengers  or  freight,  and  subject  to  such  approval  to  fix 
the  terms  and  conditions  of  such  construction  or  use;  and 
to  authorize  subject  to  the  provisions  of  article  X  the  ac- 
quisition and  operation  of  plants  for  the  supply  and  dis- 
tribution of  water,  gas  or  electricity  for  public  and  private 
use,  and  shall  have  power  subject  to  said  provisions  to 
exercise  all  other  powers  by  this  act  vested  in  the  mayor 

and  city  council  of  the  city  of . 

Ordinances  The  council  shall  also  have  power  subject  to  the  pro- 
visions of  section  four  of  article  III  and  to  the  other  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  to  enact  reasonable  ordinances  for  the 
establishment  of  departments  or  divisions  for  the  executive 
work  of  the  city  in  addition  to  those  enumerated  in  section 
one  of  article  VI,  for  establishing  the  compensation  or 
salaries  of  the  ofl&cers,  members  of  boards  and  division 
heads  enumerated  in  said  section  or  placed  in  charge  of 
such  additional  departments  or  divisions,  and  the  amount 
of  the  bonds  to  be  furnished  by  them  under  the  provi- 
sions of  said  section  of  article  VI;  for  establishing  the 
terms  upon  which  permits  shall  be  granted  by  the 
superintendent  of  streets  for  temporary  openings  in  the 
public  streets  and  the  fees  which  shall  be  paid  for  such 
permits;   for  establishing  the  terms  and  conditions  upon 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 1 S 

which  encroachments  upon  the  public  streets  may  be  per- 
mitted for  the  benefit  of  the  owners  of  adjoining  real  estate, 
and  the  fees  to  be  paid  therefor,  which  fees  may  take  the 
form  of  annual  rent;  ^^  for  establishing,  subject  to  any 
general  or  special  law  affecting  the  city,  the  height,  ma- 
terials and  construction  of  all  buildings  that  may  be 
erected,  enlarged  or  altered  in  the  city  or  any  part  thereof; 
for  establishing  the  manner  in  which  personal  property  not 
used  or  required  by  any  department  shall  be  disposed  of; 
for  establishing  reasonable  rules  and  regulations  for  the 
conduct  of  the  business  of  the  city  and  its  several  depart- 
ments and  for  the  protection  of  health,  life  and  property, 
within  the  city;  and  for  consolidating  and  re-enacting  from 
time  to  time  the  ordinances  of  the  city  then  in  force. 

Provided,  however,  that  no  real  estate  shall  be  acquired  Limitations 
by  private  treaty  for  a  price  greater  by  twenty-five  per  cent 
than  the  average  assessed  value  thereof  during  the  three 
preceding  years,^^  no  real  estate  shall  be  acquired  by  tak- 
ing if  already  appropriated  to  a  public  use,  and  for  all 
property  thus  taken  compensation  shall  be  made  by  the 
city  in  the  manner  and  under  the  procedure  provided  by 
law  when  private  property  is  taken  for  public  uses;  ^^  no 
real  estate  shall  be  acquired  either  by  private  treaty  or 
public  taking  for  any  municipal  use,  and  no  public  street 
shall  be  laid  out,  widened  or  extended,  unless  an  appropria- 
tion, estimated  by  the  board  of  assessors  in  a  written  com- 
munication to  the  mayor  or  council  as  adequate,  has  been 
duly  authorized  by  the  mayor  and  city  council,  nor  unless 
the  proposed  acquisition  of  land  or  street  improvement  has 
within  three  months  prior  to  the  vote  of  the  council  author- 
izing the  same  been  recommended  in  a  written  communi- 
cation to  the  mayor  or  city  council  by  the  ofiicer  or  board 
in  charge  of  the  department  for  or  in  connection  with  the 
duties  of  which  the  land  is  to  be  acquired  or  the  improve- 
ment undertaken  or  in  the  case  of  land  for  schoolhouses 
by  the  school  committee;  ^^  and  provided  further  that  no 
authority  granted  by  the  mayor  and  city  council  to  any 
person  or  corporation  to  lay,  construct,  maintain,  repair 
and  use  pipes,  conduits,  manholes,  poles,  wires,  rails  or 
other  machinery  in,  under  or  over  the  public  streets,  shall 


ii6 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


be  valid  without  the  approval  of  the  state  board  having 
jurisdiction  over  the  use  of  the  public  streets  for  the  purpose 
for  which  said  authority  has  been  granted,^^  and  such 
authority  shall  be  subject  to  revocation,  amendment 
or  regulation  as  now  or  hereafter  provided  by  law,  and 
that  a  like  approval  shall  be  requisite  to  the  validity 
of  all  ordinances  respecting  temporary  openings  in  the 
streets. 


Powers  of 
the  council 
and  its 
members 
indepen- 
dent of 
action  by 
the  mayor 


Section  5.  The  council  shall  have  power  without  refer- 
ence to  the  provisions  of  section  four  of  article  III  but 
subject  to  the  other  provisions  of  this  act:  to  appoint, 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  section  three  of  article  VI,  the 
city  clerk  and  such  other  employees  as  it  may  require  for 
the  discharge  of  its  duties;  to  expend  such  moneys  as  are 
reasonably  necessary  for  said  purposes;  to  request  at  any 
time  from  the  mayor  specific  information  necessary  to  en- 
able it  to  appropriate  money,  to  enact  ordinances  and 
otherwise  to  discharge  its  duties  and  to  request  his  presence 
to  answer  written  questions  relating  thereto  at  a  meeting 
to  be  held  not  earlier  than  one  week  after  the  receipt  of 
the  questions  in  which  case  the  mayor  shall  personally,  or 
through  an  officer,  division  head,  or  member  of  a  board, 
attend  such  meeting  and  pubUcly  answer  such  questions; 
to  request  at  any  time  from  the  school  committee  specific 
information  relating  to  the  schools  necessary  to  enable  the 
council  to  appropriate  money  for  school  purposes,  and  to 
request  the  presence  of  the  chairman  of  the  school  com- 
mittee to  answer  written  questions  relating  to  such  matters 
at  a  meeting  to  be  held  not  earlier  than  one  week  after  the 
receipt  of  the  questions  in  which  case  the  chairman  of  the 
committee  shall,  personally  or  through  some  other  member 
of  the  committee  or  through  the  superintendent  of  schools, 
attend  such  meeting  and  publicly  answer  such  questions; 
to  sanction  under  the  provisions  of  section  one  of  article 
VIII  and  section  one  of  article  X  long-term  leases  and 
contracts  after  execution  and  approval  by  the  mayor;  ^ 
and  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  act  to  exercise  all  other 
powers  by  this  act  vested  in  the  city  council  as  distinguished 
from  the  mayor  and  city  council.^ 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  II7 

The  members  of  the  city  council  shall  have  access  to  the 
books  and  accounts  of  the  executive  departments  of  the 
government. 

Except  as  in  this  act  specifically  permitted  neither  the  Prohibi- 
city  council  nor  any  member  or  committee  thereof,  shall 
directly  or  indirectly  take  part  in  the  employment  of  labor, 
the  making  of  contracts,  the  purchase  of  materials  or  sup- 
plies, the  construction,  alteration  or  repair  of  any  public 
works,  buildings  or  other  property,  the  care,  custody  and 
management  of  the  same,  the  conduct  of  any  of  the  execu- 
tive or  administrative  business  of  the  city,  the  appointment 
or  removal  of  the  administrative  oflScers  and  their  em- 
ployees, or  the  expenditure  of  pubUc  money. 

Section  6.  Whenever  a  vacancy,  as  defined  in  article  Vacancies 
II,  occurs  in  the  council  during  the  first  six  months  after  a 
regular  municipal  election  and  more  than  sixty  days  before 
the  holding  of  a  special  election  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the 
office  of  mayor,  the  vacancy  in  the  council  shall  be  filled 
at  such  special  election,  as  in  said  article  provided. 

A  vacancy  occurring  under  other  circumstances  shall  be 
filled  by  vote  of  the  council,  and  the  person  thus  elected 
shall  serve  as  member  of  the  council  during  the  remainder 
of  the  municipal  year. 

Article  V.     The  School  Committee 

Section  i.     The  school  committee  shall  consist  of  five  Election 

and  corn- 
persons,  who  shall  be  nominated  and  elected  in  the  manner  pensation 

provided  in  article  II.     They  shall  serve  without  compen- 
sation. 

Section  2.  The  school  committee  shall  meet  at  ten  Organiza- 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  first  Monday  in  January  of 
each  year  and  the  newly  elected  members  shall  be  sworn 
to  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duties  by  the  city  clerk 
or  in  his  absence  by  a  justice  of  the  peace.  If  any 
member-elect  be  absent,  the  oath  of  office  may  be  ad- 
ministered to  him  in  like  manner  at  any  time  thereafter. 

At  said  meeting,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be,  the 
committee  shall  be  called  to  order  by  the  member  eldest 
in  years  of  those  present,  and  he  shall  preside  until  the 


Il8  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

committee,  by  vote  of  a  majority  of  all  the  members, 
chooses  by  ballot  one  of  its  members  as  chairman.  The 
chairman  shall  be  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  his 
duties  by  the  city  clerk,  or,  in  his  absence,  by  a  justice  of 
the  peace.  He  shall  have  the  right  to  vote  on  any  question, 
and  may  at  any  time  be  removed  by  the  affirmative  vote, 
taken  by  yeas  and  nays,  of  three  members  of  the  committee. 
In  case  of  the  absence  of  the  chairman  the  member  eldest  in 
years  shall  preside;  and  in  case  of  the  death,  resignation  or 
removal  of  the  chairman,  the. member  eldest  in  years  shall 
preside  until  his  successor  is  elected  and  sworn  in  the 
manner  above  provided. 

Members  elected  at  a  special  election  shall  be  sworn  at 
any  time. 

Proceedings  Section  3.  The  committee  shall  determine  its  own  rules 
of  procedure;  but  it  shall  sit  with  open  doors,  whether  act- 
ing as  the  school  committee  or  in  committee  of  the  whole. 

Regular  meetings  of  the  committee  shall  be  held  at  such 
times  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  the  rules  of  the  committee, 
provided  that  at  least  one  regular  meeting  shall  be  held 
every  thirty-one  days. 

Special  meetings  may  be  called  at  any  time  by  the  secre- 
tary of  the  committee  at  the  request  in  writing  of  the  mayor 
or  of  two  members  of  the  committee,  provided  that  a  writ- 
ten notice  be  mailed  to  each  member  at  his  home  address  at 
least  twenty-four  hours  before  the  time  set  for  the  meeting. 

The  attendance  of  members  may  be  secured  in  such 
manner  and  by  such  penalties  as  the  committee  may  by 
rule  provide. 

Three  members  of  the  committee  shall  constitute  a  quo- 
rum for  the  transaction  of  all  business  except  as  otherwise 
provided  in  this  act,  but  a  less  number  may  adjourn  from 
time  to  time. 

All  acts  of  the  committee  shall  be  in  the  form  of  written 
or  printed  orders  or  votes.  All  voting  shall  be  by  yeas  and 
nays. 

A  journal  of  the  proceedings  of  each  meeting  shall  be 
kept  by  the  secretary,  shall  be  open  to  public  inspection, 
and  a  duly  attested  copy  thereof  shall  be  published  within 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  II9 

seven  days  after  each  meeting  in  some  newspaper  pub- 
lished in  the  city.  All  communications  from  the  mayor 
shall  be  entered  at  large  upon  the  journal. 

Section  4.     The  committee  shall  appoint  a  secretary,  Officers 
a  superintendent  of  schools  and  such  teachers  as  it  may  ^pioyees 
deem  necessary  for  the  proper  discharge  of  its  duties,  may 
define  their  terms  of  service  and  fix  their  compensation, 
and  may  suspend  or  remove  them  at  pleasure. 

The  committee  shall  also  appoint,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  civil  service  commission  in  the  manner  provided  by 
law,  such  other  employees  as  it  may  deem  necessary,  may 
fix  their  compensation,  and  may  suspend  or  remove  them 
at  pleasure. 

Section  5.  The  committee  shall  have  the  entire  man-  General 
agement  of  the  public  schools  of  the  city,  including  the  P°^®^^ 
expenditure  of  all  moneys  appropriated  by  the  mayor  and 
city  council  for  school  purposes,  the  construction,  altera- 
tion, enlargement,  care  and  repair  of  the  schoolhouses  and 
yards,  the  purchase  of  supplies  and  all  other  matters  inci- 
dent to  said  management;  and  subject  to  the  provisions 
of  this  act  shall  have  all  the  powers  conferred,  and  dis- 
charge the  duties  imposed  by  law  upon  the  committee. 

Provided,  however,  that  no  money  shall  be  expended 
for  any  purpose  other  than  the  purposes  designated  in  the 
orders  or  votes  of  the  mayor  and  city  council  appropriat- 
ing the  same;  nor  in  excess  of  the  appropriations;  and  that 
all  and  singular  the  provisions  and  penalties  provided  in 
articles  VIII  and  XI  shall  apply  to  the  school  committee 
and  its  work. 

The  chairman  or  any  member  of  the  committee  or  the 
superintendent  if  requested  by  the  committee  may  at  any 
time  attend  and  address  the  city  council  upon  any  subject 
relating  to  the  schools. 

Section  6.  Whenever  a  vacancy,  as  defined  in  article  Vacancies 
II,  occurs  in  the  committee  during  the  first  six  months  after 
a  regular  municipal  election  and  more  than  sixty  days 
before  the  holding  of  a  special  election  to  fill  a  vacancy  in 
the  office  of  mayor,  the  vacancy  in  the  committee  shall  be 
filled  at  such  special  election  a^  in  said  article  provided. 


I20  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

A  vacancy  occurring  under  other  circumstances  shall  be 
filled  by  vote  of  the  committee,  and  the  person  thus  elected 
shall  serve  as  a  member  of  the  committee  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  municipal  year. 


Article  VI.     Organization  of  the  Executive  Departments 

Depart-  Section  i.     The  executive  business  of  the  city,  other 

sions,offi-'  ^^^^  ^^^^  relating  to  the  public  schools,  shall  be  divided 
cers  and       among  the  departments  and  divisions  and  shall  be  trans- 

6HI0I0VG6S 

acted,  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  by  the  officers, 
boards  and  division  heads  set  forth  in  the  following  table: 


Departments  and 
Divisions 


Officers  or  Boards  in 
charge  of  departments 


Mayor's  Secretary 
City  Solicitor 
Commissioner  of  Public 
Safety 


Mayor's  Ofl&ce 

Law  Department 

Public  Safety  Department 

Building  Division 

Health  Division 

Fire  Division 

Police  Division 

Weights  and  Measures  Division 
Public  Works  Department  Commissioner  of  Public 

Engineering  Division  Works 

Streets  and  Sewers  Division 

Parks  and  Playgrounds  Division 
Municipal  Property  Department    Commissioner  of  Prop- 
Water  Division 

Gas  Division 

Electric  Division 

Miscellaneous  Property  Divi- 


erty 


Division  Heads  in 
charge  of  divisions 


Sup't  of  Buildings 
City  Physician 
Fire  Chief 
Chief  of  Police 
Sealer  of  Weights  and 
[Measures 
City  Engineer 
Sup't  of  Streets 
Sup't  of  Parks 

[Works 
Manager  of  Water 
Manager   of    Gas    and 

Electric  Works 
Property  Agent 


Penal  Institutions  Department 

Treasury  Department 
Accounting  Department 
Recording  Department 
Assessing  Department 
Licensing  Department 
Elections  Department 
Public  Charities  Department 

Poor  Relief  Division 

Insanity  Division 

Cemetery  Division 
Public  Library  Department 


Commissioner  of  Penal 

Institutions 
City  Treasurer 
City  Auditor 
City  Clerk 
Board  of  Three  Assessors 

"       "  Commissioners 

"      "  Commissioners 

*'      "  Trustees 


Board  of  Three  Trustees 


Sup't  of  Poor  Relief 
"      "  Insane  Asylum 
"      "  Cemeteries 

Librarian 


Each  division  head  shall  transact  the  business  of  his  divi- 
sion under  the  direction  of  the  officer  or  board  in  charge 
of  the  department  of  which  his  division  is  a  part,  and  shall 
under  such  direction  exercise  all  the  powers  and  be  subject 
to  all  the  duties  prescribed  in  this  act  for  the  transaction 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  121 

of  such  business;  and  the  mayor  shall  exercise  over  the 
officers  and  boards  in  charge  of  the  several  departments 
the  powers  of  supervision  and  control  vested  in  him  under 
the  provisions  of  section  three  of  article  III. 

The  officers,  boards  and  division  heads  specified  in  the  General 
foregoing  table  shall  also  except  as  provided  in  this  act  P**^®'^ 
exercise  all  the  powers  conferred  and  discharge  all  the 
duties  imposed  by  law  or  ordinance  upon  such  officers, 
boards  and  division  heads  respectively,  or  upon  officers 
differently  designated  but  having  charge  of  similar  branches 
of  the  city's  work,  and  wherever  it  is  doubtful  whether 
under  this  provision  any  such  powers  are  conferred  or  any 
such  duties  are  imposed  upon  the  officer  or  board  in  charge 
of  a  department  or  upon  one  of  the  division  heads  of  such 
department,  the  latter  shall  be  intended;  but  all  the  powers 
conferred  and  all  the  duties  imposed  by  law  upon  the  board 
of  health  for  the  city  shall,  except  as  in  this  act  provided, 
be  exercised  and  discharged  by  a  board  of  health  consisting 
of  the  commissioner  of  public  safety  who  shall  be  the 
chairman,  the  city  physician  and  the  superintendent  of 
buildings. 

Each  of  the  boards  for  which  provision  is  hereinbefore  Organlza- 
made  except  the  board  of  health  shall  elect  a  chairman,  bo^jjg  ® 
Every  board  shall  appoint  a  secretary,  who  may  be  a  mem- 
ber thereof,  who  shall  be  present  at  meetings,  shall  keep 
a  record  of  the  proceedings,  and  shall  perform  such  other 
duties  as  may  be  assigned  him  by  the  board.  If  the  secre- 
tary is  absent  a  temporary  secretary  shall  be  appointed. 
The  records  shall  be  open  to  public  inspection.  The 
boards  shall  act  either  by  votes  duly  recorded  by  the  sec- 
retary or  by  papers  signed  by  all  the  members,  unless  in 
some  particular  provision  of  this  act  one  of  these  methods 
or  some  other  method  is  clearly  prescribed.  Wherever  in 
this  act  the  signature  of  a  board  is  provided,  it  shall  be 
construed  to  mean  either  the  signature  of  all  the  members 
of  the  board,  or  the  signature  of  the  chairman  and  an 
attested  copy  of  the  vote  of  the  board  authorizing  such 
signature. 

If  the  city  possesses  no  property  and  is  under  no  obliga- 
tion created  by  law  or  ordinance  which  would  call  for  the 


122 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Omission 
and  addi- 
tion of  de- 
partments 


Subordi- 
nates 


Bonds 


establishment  or  maintenance  of  some  one  or  more  of  the 
departments  or  divisions  set  out  in  the  foregoing  table  the 
provisions  of  this  section  respecting  such  department  or 
division  shall  be  inoperative;  but  whenever  such  property 
is  acquired  or  such  obligations  are  created  by  law  or  ordi- 
nance then  said  provisions  shall  be  in  force;  and  depart- 
ments or  divisions  hereinafter  created  by  ordinance  for 
which  no  provision  is  herein  made  shall  be  in  charge  of 
such  officer,  board  or  division  head  as  may  be  prescribed 
in  the  ordinance. 

The  officers,  members  of  boards  and  division  heads  are 
to  be  appointed  by  the  mayor  in  the  manner  and  subject 
to  the  provisions  set  forth  in  section  three  of  this  article. 

The  officers,  boards  and  division  heads  shall,  subject  to 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  employ  such  assistants,  clerks, 
experts,  laborers,  and  other  employees  as  may  be  necessary 
for  the  discharge  of  their  respective  duties ;  the  employees 
of  each  division  being  employed  by  the  division  head,  and 
the  employees  of  each  department  not  specially  engaged 
for  the  work  of  any  particular  division  being  employed  by 
the  officer  or  board  in  charge  of  the  department. 

All  officers  and  employees  of  the  city  shall  furnish  such 
bonds  as  may  be  required  by  ordinance  for  the  faithful 
discharge  of  their  duties.  The  cost  of  such  bonds  shall  be 
charged  to  the  appropriate  department  or  division.  No 
officer  or  employee  of  the  city  shall  serve  as  surety  on  any 
such  bond. 


Terms  and 
compensa- 
tion 


Section  2.  The  term  of  office  of  the  mayor's  secretary, 
of  the  city  soHcitor  and  of  the  commissioners  of  public 
safety,  public  works,  and  property  shall  be  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  mayor. 

The  term  of  the  city  clerk  shall  be  the  municipal  year  in 
which  he  is  appointed  or  so  much  thereof  as  is  unexpired 
at  the  date  of  his  appointment. 

The  terms  of  the  other  officers  and  members  of  boards 
specified  in  the  second  column  of  the  table  in  section  one  of 
this  article  shall  be  three  years  counting  from  the  first  day 
of  January  in  the  year  of  appointment  f^  but  the  first  ap- 
pointments in  the  year  19 —  to  the  said  boards  shall  be  for 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 23 

one,  two  and  three  years  respectively  so  that  the  term  of 
one  member  of  each  of  said  boards  shall  expire  each  year. 

The  division  heads  specified  in  section  one  of  this  act 
shall  hold  office  until  resignation,  removal  or  death. 

The  secretaries  of  the  boards  for  whom  provision  is  made 
in  said  section  shall  hold  office  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
board. 

Upon  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  any  office,  the  in- 
cumbent shall,  unless  his  services  are  terminated  by  notice 
or  he  is  removed  as  provided  in  section  four  of  this  article, 
continue  to  perform  the  duties  thereof,  and  to  draw  the 
salary  attached  thereto  until  his  successor  has  qualified. 

The  members  of  the  boards  of  trustees  of  public  chari- 
ties and  public  libraries  shall  serve  without  compensation. 
The  other  officers,  members  of  boards,  division  heads  and 
secretaries  specified  in  section  one  of  this  article  shall 
receive  such  compensation  as  may  be  prescribed  by 
ordinance. 

The  other  employees  of  the  several  departments  and 
divisions  shall  be  employed  for  such  periods  and  upon 
such  terms  as  may  be  fixed  by  the  officer,  board  or  division 
head  employing  them. 

Section  3.  The  mayor's  secretary  and  the  other  em-  Appoint- 
ployees  of  his  office,  the  city  solicitor,  the  public  safety, 
publicworks,  property,  elections,  Ucense,  and  penal 
institutions  commissioners  and  the  trustees  of  public 
charities  and  public  libraries  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
mayor  by  means  of  a  certificate  signed  by  him  and  filed 
with  the  city  clerk.  The  city  clerk  shall  be  appointed  by 
a  vote  of  the  city  coimcil. 

The  foregoing  appointments  shall  be  made  by  the  mayor  (a)  Without 
or  by  the  city  council  respectively  without  reference  to  ^g  ^i^jj 
any  other  board  or  authority,  and  shall  become  operative  service 
upon  the  appointee's  being  sworn  by  the  city  clerk  or  a  gi^j^ 
justice  of  the  peace  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  his  office  and  filing  with  the  city  auditor  the  bond  re- 
quired by  section  one  of  this  article. 

The  secretaries  of  the  boards  for  whom  provision  is 
made  in  section  one  of  this  article  shall  also  be  appointed 


124  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

by  the  respective  boards  without  reference  to  any  other 
board  or  authority. 

(b)  With  the  The  city  treasurer,  and  city  auditor,  the  members  of  the 
of  the  civil    board  of  assessors  and  the  division  heads  for  whom  provi- 

service         sion  is  made  in  section  one  of  this  article  shall  be  appointed 

commission  i      .v  •     ^i.    r  n      •  t^     •        f 

and  special   "y  ^^^  mayor  m  the  foUowmg  manner.     Durmg  the  year 

examina-  19 —  and  whenever  a  vacancy  in  any  of  said  offices  exists 
the  mayor  shall  request  the  civil  service  commission  ^7 
to  hold  an  examination  to  fill  the  same.  The  commission 
shall  designate  three  examiners  who  shall  be  experts  in  or 
specially  familiar  with  the  work  and  duties  of  the  office  in 
question.  The  examiners  shall  select  and  rank  by  exami- 
nation, inquiry  and  investigation  the  one  or  more  persons 
not  exceeding  three  best  suited  for  the  office  from  among 
those  who  are  found  to  be  qualified.  The  names  of  these 
persons,  and  if  more  than  one  the  order  in  which  they 
rank,  shall  be  sent  to  the  mayor,  who  shall  select  one  of 
them  and  within  three  weeks  notify  the  commission  of 
such  selection.  The  person  thus  selected  shall  then  be 
considered  as  appointed.  If  such  information  has  not 
been  received  within  three  weeks,  the  person  who  was 
designated  by  the  examining  board  as  best  qualified  shall 
be  considered  appointed  as  of  the  day  succeediug  said 
period  of  three  weeks.  The  expenses  incurred  by  the 
commission  in  said  examination  shall  be  paid  by  the  [com- 
monwealth*], and  reimbursed  by  the  city. 

The  foregoing  provisions  shall  also  apply  to  the  officers, 
members  of  boards  and  division  heads  of  all  departments 
hereafter  created  and  not  specified  in  section  one  of  this 
article. 

(c)  Under  All  other  employees  of  any  department  or  division  as 
ary  rules  of  ^^^^  ^^^  employees  of  the  city  council  other  than  the  city 
the  civil  clerk  shall  be  employed  by  the  officer,  board  or  division 
commission  ^^^^  ^  charge  of  the  department  or  division,  or  by  the 

city  council,  respectively,  after  approval  by  the  civil  ser- 
vice commission  in  the  manner  provided  by  law  ;  ^^  but 
architects,  civil  engineers,  lawyers,  and  other  professional 
men  not  in  the  regular  employment  of  the  city  may  be  en- 
gaged for  special  work  requiring  expert  knowledge  by  the 

♦  Or  "state". 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 25 

officers  and  boards  in  charge  of  the  several  departments 
provided  the  approval  in  writing  of  the  mayor  and  of  the 
civil  service  commission  is  first  secured.^^ 

No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office  or  employment  Residence '« 
to  which  the  provisions  of  this  article  apply  unless  he  is  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States;  but  he  need  not  be  a  citizen 
of  the  [commonwealth*]  or  a  resident  of  the  city. 

No  law  exempting  any  person  or  persons  from  the  ex-  Exemptions 
aminations  or  rules  of  the  civil  service  commission  or  giving 
any  person  or  persons  a  preference  over  other  citizens  of 
the  United  States  for  employment  in  municipal  service 
shall  apply  to  the  city  of .^^ 

Section  4.  Every  officer,  member  of  a  board  and  divi-  Removals 
sion  head  and  every  person  employed  for  a  definite  and  pensions'* 
unexpired  term,  except  the  permanent  members  of  the  fire 
and  police  divisions  of  the  department  of  public  safety,  may 
be  removed  by  the  mayor,  officer,  board  or  division  head 
having  under  sections  three  and  five  of  this  article  the 
power  to  fill  the  vacancy  thus  created  by  the  filing  with  the 
city  clerk  of  a  written  statement  setting  forth  the  specific 
reasons^  for  such  removal.  A  copy  of  such  statement 
shall  be  sent  to  the  person  concerned,  and  he  shall  have 
the  privilege  of  filing  an  answer  with  the  city  clerk  within 
three  weeks;  but  this  privilege  shall  not  affect  the  re- 
moval.^ 

The  permanent  members  of  the  fire  and  police  divisions 
of  the  department  of  public  safety  may  be  removed  by  the 
commissioner  of  pubHc  safety  after  a  trial  as  provided  in 
section  three  of  article  IX. 

Any  officer,  member  of  a  board,  division  head  or  other 
employee,  including  said  members  of  the  department  of 
public  safety,  may  be  suspended  for  not  more  than  four- 
teen days  without  the  statement  or  trial  hereinbefore  re- 
ferred to. 

The  services  of  every  employee  of  the  city  not  within 
the  foregoing  provisions  of  this  section  may  be  terminated 
by  the  person  or  board  appointing  or  employing  him  upon 
written  notice  to  him. 

*  Or  "  state  ". 


126  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

Vacancies  Section  5.  A  vacancy  in  any  office  subject  to  the  pro- 
ary  appSnt-  visions  of  this  article  shall  be  filled  in  the  same  manner  as 
ments  in  the  case  of  the  original  appointment;   except  that  an 

appointment  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  one  of  the  boards  speci- 
fied in  the  second  column  of  section  one  of  this  article, 
shall  be  for  the  remainder  of  the  unexpired  term. 

When  any  of  the  offices  specified  in  the  table  in  section 
one  of  this  article  becomes  vacant  by  death,  resignation  or 
removal  or  the  incumbent  is  suspended,  the  mayor  may 
designate  in  writing  one  of  the  other  officers  specified  in 
said  table  to  perform  temporarily  the  duties  of  the  vacant 
office;  ^^  but  said  officer  shall  receive  no  compensation  for 
such  service  in  addition  to  the  salary  if  any  attached  to 
his  own  office.  Temporary  appointees  need  not  furnish 
any  bond. 

Article  VII.     Appropriations,  Taxes  and  Loans 

General  Section  i.     Except  as  provided  in  section  four  of  this 

pro  s  ons  a^j-^jj^jg  ^^  money  shall  be  expended  by  the  city  or  by  any 
officer,  department  or  division  thereof,  or  by  the  school 
committee,  unless  appropriated  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  this  article  for  some  public  purpose  author- 
ized by  law  and  not  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this 
act;  but  revenues  of  special  funds  or  other  moneys  which 
the  city  is  specifically  directed  by  this  act  or  by  law  to  ex- 
pend for  specffied  purposes  shall  be  deemed  to  be  appropria- 
ted within  the  meaning  of  this  section  without  further 
action  under  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

No  money  shall  be  borrowed  in  the  name  or  on  the  credit 
of  the  city  except  for  the  purposes,  to  the  amounts  and  in 
the  manner  provided  in  this  article;  and  any  loan,  note  or 
certfficate  of  indebtedness  issued  otherwise  than  for  the 
purposes  and  in  the  manner  provided  in  this  article  shall 
be  void. 

The  annual  Section  2.  Every  officer  and  board  and  the  school 
committee,  shall  on  or  before  the  fifteenth  day  of  Decem- 
ber in  each  year  submit  to  the  city  auditor  a  detailed  state- 
ment in  writing  of  the  appropriations  desired  for  the  current 
expenses  of  the  ensuing  year,  and  of  the  amounts  desired 
for  permanent  improvements  and  other  purposes.     On  or 


estimates'* 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  IZJ 

before  the  second  Monday  in  January  following,  the  audi- 
tor ^^  shall  transmit  to  the  mayor  and  to  the  city  council 
printed  statements  of  all  such  expenditures  during  the 
preceding  fiscal  year,  showing  in  parallel  columns,  for  each 
department  and  item  of  expenditure,  all  balances  brought 
forward  and  credited  to  the  department  or  item  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fiscal  year,  all  receipts  during  the  year  from 
sources  of  revenue  specifically  appropriated  by  law,  the 
appropriations  of  the  mayor  and  city  council  during  the 
year,  the  transfers  during  the  year  from  and  to  the  same, 
the  expenditures  during  the  year,  the  outstanding  obliga- 
tions and  the  unexpended  balances  if  any  at  the  close  of 
the  year,  the  requests  for  the  new  year,  and  his  individual 
estimate  of  the  amounts  reasonably  required.  He  shall 
distinguish  between  moneys  appropriated  or  received  from 
loans,  if  any,  and  moneys  appropriated  or  received  from 
other  sources.  He  shall  also  report  the  amount  of  cash  in 
the  treasury  at  the  beginning  of  the  current  fiscal  year,  the 
obligations  or  appropriations  chargeable  thereto  and  any 
unappropriated  cash  balance.  He  shall  also  furnish  an 
estimate  of  the  income  or  receipts  of  the  city  during  the 
current  year  from  sources  other  than  the  taxes  of  the  cur- 
rent year  and  loans,  a  statement  of  the  amounts  required 
during  the  year  for  interest,  the  sinking  funds  and  the  pay- 
ment of  debt,  and  a  calculation  of  the  amount  which  can 
by  law  be  [raised  by  taxation  or]*  borrowed  during  the 
year.  He  shall  report  such  further  information  and  sug- 
gestions as  he  may  deem  pertinent  or  useful,  or  that  may 
be  required  by  ordinance. 

Section  3.  All  appropriations  to  be  met  from  taxes,  The  annual 
revenues  or  any  source  other  than  loans  shall  originate  ^ 
with  the  mayor,  who  shall  on  or  before  the  first  day  of 
February  of  each  year  unless  this  be  his  first  year  of  office 
(in  which  case  he  shall  be  allowed  until  the  first  day  of 
March)  submit  to  the  city  council  his  recommendations  in 
the  form  of  a  budget  for  the  expenses  of  the  city  to  be  met 
from  taxes  and  general  revenue  during  the  current  year 
and  a  budget  of  the  expenditures  if  any  of  the  department 
of  municipal  property  in  excess  of  the  revenue  from  the 

*  These  words  to  be  omitted  unless  the  "  alternative  clause  "  in  sec.  6  is  adopted. 


128  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

property  of  the  department.  The  allowance  for  each  de- 
partment or  division  as  enumerated  in  section  one  of  article 
VI  shall  so  far  as  salaries,  wages,  rents,  maintenance  and 
other  current  expenses  go,  be  stated  either  in  a  lump  sum 
or  single  item,  or  with  such  detail  as  may  be  prescribed  by 
ordinance.^^  He  may  also  submit  recommendations  con- 
cerning the  appropriations  for  the  year  from  sources  other 
than  loans  to  be  expended  for  current  expenses  or  for  other 
purposes.  He  may  thereafter  submit  supplementary  budg- 
ets for  the  current  expenses  of  the  city  imtil  such  time 
as  the  tax  rate  for  the  year  shall  have  been  fixed,  and  may 
at  any  time  during  the  year  submit  supplementary  budgets 
for  expenditures  to  be  met  from  business  or  property  rev- 
enues or  from  any  receipts  other  than  taxes.  TJie  city 
council  may,  after  fourteen  and  within  thirty  days  after  a 
budget  is  received,  approve,  reduce  or  reject  any  item,  but 
without  the  approval  of  the  mayor  in  writing  may  not  in- 
crease any  item  in  a  budget  nor  the  total  thereof,  nor  add 
any  item  thereto.  All  items  not  thus  reduced  or  rejected 
shall  so  far  as  the  council  goes  become  effective  at  the  ex- 
piration of  said  period,  as  also  all  items  reduced  or  with  the 
written  approval  of  the  mayor  increased  or  added.  The 
budget  shall  then  be  submitted  to  the  mayor  for  action  by 
him  under  section  four  of  article  III. 

Any  appropriation  in  any  year  for  lighting  the  public 
streets  or  buildings,  for  the  supply  of  water  for  public 
buildings,  protection  against  fire  or  other  municipal  pur- 
poses, or  for  the  collection  or  removal  of  refuse,  shall  be 
construed  as  an  appropriation  of  money  to  meet  the  pay- 
ments due  during  the  year  under  a  continuing  contract  for 
these  services  respectively  which  has  been  entered  into  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  section  one  of  article 
VIII. 

[The  total  of  the  budgets  to  be  met  by  taxes  and  revenue 
shall  not  exceed  the  amount  which  can  by  law  be  raised  by 
taxation  during  the  year,  together  with  the  other  moneys 
available  for  the  purpose  as  estimated  by  the  city  auditor 
under  section  two  of  this  article].* 

*  This  paragraph  to  be  omitted  unless  the  "  alternative  clause  "  in  sec.  6  is 
adopted. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 29 

In  case  the  mayor  does  not  before  the  fifteenth  day  of 
February  (or  if  it  be  his  first  year  in  office  before  the  fif- 
teenth day  of  March)  submit  the  annual  budget  to  the  city 
council,  that  body  may  by  the  affirmative  vote  of  five  of 
its  members  voting  by  yeas  and  nays  pass  a  budget  for  the 
current  expenses  of  the  city  to  be  met  from  taxes  and 
revenue  during  the  year,  which  shall  then  be  submitted  to 
the  mayor  for  action  by  him  under  section  four  of  article 
III. 

Section  4.     Before  the  annual  budget  has  been  passed  Expendi- 
the  officers  and  boards  may  with  the  approval  in  writing  ing^passage 
of  the  mayor  incur  liabilities  for  current  department  ex-  of  the 
penses  chargeable  to  the  appropriations  for  the  year  when  b^get 
passed  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  one  quarter  of  the  total 
appropriations  for  similar  purposes  in  the  preceding  year; 
and  the  city  treasurer  may  pay  the  same  out  of  any  moneys 
obtained  from  sources  other  than  loans  and  not  already 
appropriated  or  out  of  loans  incurred  in  anticipation  of 
taxes  as  provided  in  section  twelve  of  this  article,  and  shall 
when  the  budget  is  passed  and  without  further  action  by 
the  mayor  or  city  council  make  transfers  from  the  appro- 
priations in  the  budget  to  cover  these  payments. 

Section  5.  If  a  reserve  fund  is  appropriated  for  cur-  Transfers 
rent  expenses  without  assignment  to  any  particular  depart- 
ment or  an  appropriation  is  made  for  a  department  with- 
out specification  of  items,  the  city  council  may  at  any  time, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  mayor  as  provided  in  sec- 
tion four  of  article  III,  make  transfers  therefrom  for  the 
current  expenses  of  a  department  or  division  or  otherwise 
designate  the  purposes  for  which  the  fund  shall  be  used. 

The  city  auditor  may  during  the  month  of  December 
with  the  approval  of  the  mayor  apply  in  such  manner  as 
he  may  determine  best  for  the  purpose  of  closing  the 
accounts  of  the  fiscal  year  any  moneys  derived  from  in- 
come or  taxes  of  which  no  other  disposition  has  been  made. 

If  the  purpose  for  which  an  appropriation  has  been  made 
has  been  accompUshed  and  an  unexpended  balance  remains, 
or  if  the  officer  or  board  in  charge  of  a  department  desires 
to  abandon  the  work  for  which  appropriation  has  been 


I30  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

made,  the  said  balance  or  appropriation  may  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  head  of  the  department  be  transferred  by  the 
mayor  and  city  council  to  other  purposes;  provided  that 
if  the  said  balance  or  appropriation  has  been  obtained  by 
loan  it  shall  be  transferred  and  used  only  for  the  purposes 
specified  and  in  the  manner  prescribed  in  sections  eight 
and  ten  of  this  article,  and  no  money  obtained  from  loans 
or  revenue  in  connection  with  any  of  the  enterprises  re- 
ferred to  in  section  two  of  article  X  shall  be  transferred  or 
used  for  any  other  purpose. 

The  tax  Section  6.     The  tax  levy  for  the  year  shall  be  declared 

^  by  the  board  of  assessors  before  the  first  day  of  September. 

It  shall  include  the  state  tax,  the  county  tax  and  all  sums 
required  by  law  to  be  raised  on  account  of  the  city  debt 
(the  declaration  of  which  three  items  by  the  board  shall 
be  deemed  an  appropriation  within  the  meaning  of  section 
one  of  this  article),  and  the  appropriations  of  the  mayor 
and  city  council  chargeable  to  the  taxes  and  revenue  for 
the  current  year,  less  the  amount  of  such  revenue  as  esti- 
mated by  the  auditor,  together  with  such  an  addition  or 
overlay  not  exceeding  five  per  cent  as  may  be  necessary 
to  avoid  fractional  divisions  of  the  amount  to  be  assessed 
and  as  the  auditor  may  advise  is  necessary  to  meet  such 
abatements  of  taxes  as  may  be  made  by  the  assessors  and 
the  anticipated  difference  if  any  between  the  actual  col- 
lections during  the  fiscal  year  from  revenue  and  the  taxes 
of  the  current  and  preceding  years  and  the  estimated 
amount  of  the  taxes  and  revenue  for  the  current  year.^^ 
[Alternative  [The  taxes  assessed  on  property  in  the  city  exclusive  of 
clause]  ^  ^^^  state  tax,  the  county  tax  and  the  sums  required  by  law 
or  by  this  act  to  be  raised  on  account  of  the  city  debt,  shall 
not  exceed,  except  as  in  this  section  provided,  the  sum  of 

dollars  on  every  thousand  dollars  of  the  assessed 

valuation  of  the  property,  real  and  personal,  subject  to 
taxation  by  the  city  for  the  preceding  year,  less  all  abate- 
ments to  December  thirty-first  preceding;  provided,  how- 
ever, that  [in  order  to  effect  the  change  in  the  fiscal  year 
provided  by  this  act  without  inconvenience,  the  taxes  upon 

property  for  the  year may  exceed  such  limit  of  twelve 

dollars  per  thousand  by  such  sum  not  exceeding  one  dollar 


CHARTER  DRAFTS 

per  thousand  as  the  mayor  and  city  council  may  determine; 
and  provided  further  that]*  the  mayor  and  city  council 
may  before  the  fifteenth  day  of  April  in  any  year  appro- 
priate a  sum  to  be  raised  by  taxes  in  excess  of  said  limit  of 
dollars  per  thousand.  The  vote  for  such  appropria- 
tion shall  specify  the  particular  items  for  which  the  money 
is  to  be  spent,  and  if  any  such  vote  is  passed  and  approved 
the  city  clerk  shall,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  May,  trans- 
mit by  mail  to  every  registered  voter  of  the  city  a  printed 
copy  thereof,  and  a  special  election,  called  in  the  manner 
provided  by  law,  shall  be  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  May, 
at  which  election  the  following  question  shall  be  voted  on 
by  ballot: 

Shall  the  following  sums  be  raised  by  taxation  in  excess 
of  the  amount  now  allowed  by  law  ? 

Mark  a  Cross  X  in  the  Square  at  the  Right 
OF  YOUR  Answer 


131 


Schools,  $10,000 

Yes 

No 

Street  Improvements,  $15,000 

Yes 

No 

If  a  majority  of  those  voting  on  any  item  declare  in  favor 
thereof,  such  item  shall  be  included  in  the  tax  assessment 
and  levy  for  the  year.] 

Section  7.     All  taxes  impaid  on  the  first  day  of  Novem-  Interest  on 
ber  in  the  year  of  their  assessment  shall  draw  interest  there-  J^g 
after  until  December  thirty-first  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent 
per  annum;  and  all  taxes  then  unpaid  shall  draw  interest 
thereafter  at  the  rate  of  seven  per  cent  per  annum. 

Section  8.     Money  may  be  borrowed  for  the  acquisition  Purposes 
of  land,  buildings  or  easements  in  land  for  any  lawful  muni-  money  may 
cipal  purpose;   for  the  construction  of  streets,  sidewalks,  be  bor- 
drainage,  bridges  and  buildings  which  are  to  be  used  for  ^^^^ 
any  such  purpose,  and  for  additions,  extensions  and  per- 
manent improvements  of  or  to  any  real  estate  or  public 

*  To  be  used  only  if  a  change  in  the  fiscal  year  is  efifected  by  the  act. 


132 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Periods  for 
which 
money  may 
be  bor- 
rowed ^ 


Require- 
ments of 
loan  orders 


Form  of 
loans  and 
mode  of 
payment 


works  used  for  such  purpose;  and  also  under  the  provisions 
of  section  twelve  of  this  article  in  anticipation  of  taxes. 
Except  under  said  section  twelve  no  money  shall  be  bor- 
rowed for  current  expenses  or  for  the  acquisition  of  furni- 
ture or  personal  property  of  any  kind  other  than  the  ma- 
chinery required  for  the  city's  sewerage,  water,  gas  or 
electric  works. ^^ 

Section  9.  The  maximum  length  of  time  upon  which 
money  may  be  borrowed  for  land,  easements  in  land,  dams 
and  sewers  shall  be  thirty  years;  for  buildings,  masonry 
bridges  and  gas  and  water  mains  six  inches  or  more  in 
diameter,  twenty  years;  and  for  all  other  purposes  except 
loans  in  anticipation  of  taxes,  ten  years.  In  construing  this 
provision  buildings  or  parts  of  buildings  acquired  for  street 
widenings  shall  be  regarded  as  land. 

Section  10.  No  money  shall  be  borrowed  and  no  loan 
or  certificate  of  indebtedness  shall  be  valid  unless  author- 
ized by  a  vote  or  order  of  the  city  coimcil  passed  after  two 
readings  with  an  interval  of  at  least  two  weeks  between 
the  two,  and  one  week  after  the  vote  at  the  first  reading 
has  been  advertised  in  one  or  more  newspapers  published 
in  the  city;  nor  imless  the  order  is  approved  by  the  mayor 
under  section  four  of  article  III. 

All  loans  shall  be  offered  for  public  subscription  in  such 
manner  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  ordinance. 

No  transfer  of  money  obtained  by  loan  shall  be  valid 
unless  authorized  and  approved  in  the  foregoing  manner. 

Section  ii.  All  loans  shall  be  evidenced  by  promissory 
notes  or  certificates  of  indebtedness  signed  by  the  city 
treasurer,  the  city  auditor,  and  the  mayor.  Such  notes  or 
certificates  may  be  payable  to  bearer  or  to  the  order  of  the 
purchaser,  may  or  may  not  be  registered,  and  may  or  may 
not  have  interest  coupons,  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
vote  authorizing  the  loan,  or  in  default. of  such  direction 
as  the  city  treasurer  may  determine. 

The  rate  of  interest  on  such  notes  or  certificates  shall  in 
each  case  be  determined  by  the  city  treasurer,  but  shall 
not  exceed  the  rate  prescribed  in  the  vote  authorizing  the 
loan. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 33 

All  coupons  shall  bear  the  signature  of  the  city  treasurer, 
either  in  the  original  or  facsimile. 

All  loans  hereafter  issued,  except  those  incurred  in  antic-  Serial 
ipation  of  taxes,  shall  be  payable  in  annual  installments  ^^  ^ 
so  divided  that  an  equal  part  of  the  principal  shall  fall  due 
each  year  or  in  such  manner  that  the  total  payment  each 
year  for  principal  and  interest  shall  be  approximately  the 
same;^  and  the  first  payment  of  principal  shall  be  due 
twelve  months  after  the  date  of  the  note  or  certificate  which 
evidences  the  loan.^ 

Section  12.  Subject  to  the  foregoing  provisions  money  Loans  in 
may  be  borrowed  and  notes  issued  in  anticipation  of  the  ^ taxes  °^ 
receipts  from  taxes  during  the  current  fiscal  year;  but  the 
aggregate  amount  of  loans  and  notes  issued  for  this  pur- 
pose after  January  i,  19 — ,  at  any  time  outstanding 
shall  not  exceed  the  receipts  from  taxes  during  the  pre- 
ceding fiscal  year,  and  all  such  loans  and  notes  issued  after 
the  passage  of  this  act  shall  be  paid  out  of  receipts  from 
taxes  before  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year  in  which  they  are 
issued. 

If  upon  the  first  day  of  January,  19 — ,  there  shall  be  any 
notes  or  loans  outstanding  representing  money  borrowed 
in  anticipation  of  taxes  prior  to  the  passage  of  this  act,  the 
city  may  renew  or  fund  the  same  or  any  part  thereof  in 
five  notes  of  equal  amount  payable  one  each  year  for  five 
successive  years.  ^^ 

Section  13.     If  at  the  passage  of  this  act  there  are  loans  Sinking 
outstanding  for  which  the  city  is  liable  and  which  are  i^ms^d 
payable  at  a  date  more  than  one  year  after  the  passage  of  proceeds  of 
the  act  there  shall  be  included  in  the  tax  levy  for  each  better^ 
year  such  sum  as  the  city  auditor  shall  in  the  case  of  each  ments 
such  loan  estimate  as  sufficient  if  continued  annually  until 
the  maturity  of  the  loan  together  with  the  amount  if  any 
then  in  the  sinking  fund  for  said  loan  and  the  estimated 
accumulations  of  said  fund  to  pay  the  said  loan  at  maturity. 

All  premiums  hereafter  received  from  the  sale  of  notes 
or  certificates,  all  proceeds  of  sales  of  land,  and  all  moneys 
collected  from  betterments  or  assessments  for  street,  side- 
walk, park  or  sewer  improvements,  shall,  imless  other- 


134  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

wise  specifically  appropriated  by  law  or  in  this  act,  be  paid 
into  the  sinking  funds,  giving  the  preference  to  those  for 
the  bonds  latest  to  mature,  until  there  is  in  said  funds  an 
amount  sufficient,  together  with  the  estimated  accumula- 
tions thereof,  to  pay  all  the  sinking  fund  bonds  outstanding; 
and  when  all  the  sinking  fund  bonds  have  been  paid  or  there 
is  in  all  the  sinking  funds  an  amount  sufficient  with  the  esti- 
mated accumulations  thereof  to  pay  the  bonds  at  maturity, 
such  premiums,  proceeds  and  collections  shall  be  used  to 
meet  the  payments  next  to  fall  due  on  account  of  the  prin- 
cipal of  outstanding  notes  or  certificates  of  indebtedness 
issued  in  the  form  provided  by  the  last  paragraph  of  sec- 
tion eleven  of  this  article.^^ 

In  selecting  the  sinking  fund  or  loan  to  which  these  re- 
ceipts shall  be  applied,  preference  shall  in  every  case  be 
given  to  the  funds  created  or  loans  issued  for  or  in  connec- 
tion with  the  acquisition  of  the  property,  or  the  doing  of 
the  work  in  connection  with  which  the  money  is  received; 
and  all  receipts  from  sales  of  property  subject  to  the  pro- 
visions of  sections  two,  three  and  ten  of  article  X  which 
are  not  required  for  the  sinking  funds,  if  any,  established  in 
connection  with  the  enterprises  referred  to  in  said  sections 
of  article  X  shall  be  paid  into  the  construction  fund  pro- 
vided by  section  six  of  said  article. 

Money  belonging  to  the  sinking  fimds  shall  be  invested 
by  the  city  treasurer  in  such  state,  town  or  city  bonds, 
notes  or  certificates  of  indebtedness,  other  than  the  bonds, 

notes  or  certificates  of  the  city  of at  their  market 

value  at  the  time  of  purchase  as  he  and  the  mayor  shall  in 
writing  approve;  or  shall  be  loaned  to  responsible  banking 
institutions  at  the  going  rate  of  interest.'*^  Securities  in 
the  sinking  funds  may  from  time  to  time  be  sold  by  the 
treasurer  with  the  written  approval  of  the  mayor,  and  the 
proceeds  shall  be  invested  or  loaned  in  the  manner  herein 
provided. 

The  sinking  fund  statement  provided  for  in  section  two 
of  this  article  shall  be  prepared  on  the  basis  of  an  exact 
calculation  of  the  amounts  required,  but  shall  not  be  less 
than  the  amounts,  if  any,  specified  by  law  or  in  the  orders 
authorizing  the  respective  loans. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 35 

Section  14.  Exclusive  of  loans  for  water,  gas,  electric  Debt  limits 
works,  or  other  property  acquired  under  the  provisions  of 
sections  two,  three  and  ten  of  article  X,  of  Joans  heretofore 
issued  by  special  authority  of  the  legislature  outside  the 
debt  limit,  and  of  any  notes  which  may  be  issued  under  the 
provisions  of  section  twelve  of  this  article  in  anticipation  of 
taxes  or  to  replace  debt  incurred  in  anticipation  of  taxes, 
the  net  debt  of  the  city  outstanding  at  any  time  shall  not 

exceed per  cent  on  the  average  assessed  valuation  of 

all  property  subject  to  taxation  by  the  city  for  the  three 
years  ending  with  the  thirty-first  day  of  December  next 
preceding,  less  abatements  to  that  day. 

Section  15.     No  loan  order  or  item  in  a  loan  order  shall  Approval  by 
be  valid  unless  such  loan  or  item  has  been  approved  by  the  board  « 
state  board  having  jurisdiction  over  municipal  loans.^ 


Article  VIII.      General  Rules  for  the  Conduct  of  Business 

Section  i.      Subject  to  the  provisions  of  article  VII  Contracts, 
contracts  for  work  may  be  made,  orders  for  materials  given  J^^i^s?s 
and  leases  of  property  taken  by  the  several  departments 
for  their  respective  uses  in  the  manner  and  under  the  con- 
ditions hereinafter  set  forth. 

Orders  for  materials  and  contracts  for  work  shall  be  in  Contracts 
writing  in  such  form  as  may  be  approved  by  the  city  solici-  ^°  °^  ®^^ 
tor,  shall  be  signed  by  the  officer  or  board  in  charge  thereof, 
and  if  involving  more  than  three  hundred  dollars,  shall  be 
approved  in  writing  by  the  mayor,  and  a  copy  thereof  shall 
be  deposited  with  the  city  auditor.  Additions  to,  or  altera- 
tions in,  a  contract  for  materials  or  work  shall  be  in  writing, 
shall  be  signed  by  the  officer  or  board  in  charge  of  the  work, 
and  shall  be  approved  in  writing  by  the  mayor. ^^ 

Leases  of  property  for  municipal  purposes  shall  be  in  Leases 
writing  in  such  form  as  may  be  approved  by  the  city  solici- 
tor, shall  be  signed  by  the  officer  or  board  hiring  the  prop- 
erty in  question  and  if  involving  the  payment  of  more  than 
three  hundred  dollars  in  any  one  year  shall  be  approved  in 
writing  by  the  mayor,  and  a  copy  thereof  shall  be  deposited 
with  the  city  auditor. 


136 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Long-term 
contracts 


Advertise- 
ment and 
lowest 
bidder  « 


A  contract  for  work  of  a  continuing  character,  such  as 
the  lighting  of  the  public  streets  or  buildings,  the  supply  of 
water  for  public  buildings,  protection  against  fire  or  other 
municipal  purposes,  or  the  collection  and  removal  of  refuse, 
which  is  to  extend  over  a  series  of  years,  and  which  involves 
the  payment  of  money  out  of  the  appropriations  of  more 
than  one  year,  shall  be  limited  to  ten  years,  and  shall  not 
be  valid  imless  after  signature  and  approval  as  aforesaid  it 
is  approved  by  the  city  council  after  a  public  hearing  of 
which  at  least  seven  days'  notice  shall  be  given  in  one  or 
more  newspapers  published  in  the  city.^^ 

All  contracts  for  materials  or  work  exceeding  one  thou- 
sand dollars  in  amount  shall  be  awarded  to  the  lowest 
bidder  ^  after  public  competition  and  advertisement  in 
accordance  with  such  rules  not  inconsistent  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  section  as  may  be  prescribed  by  ordinance, 
unless  the  city  council,  upon  the  advice  in  writing  of  the 
officer  or  board  issuing  the  advertisement  and  with  the 
approval  in  writing  of  the  mayor,  authorizes  by  an  order 
read  twice  with  an  interval  of  at  least  one  week  between  the 
two  readings  the  award  of  the  contract  to  some  person  other 
than  the  lowest  bidder;  but  every  officer  and  board  shall 
have  the  right  to  reject  all  the  bids  and  to  advertise  again, 
and  all  advertisements  shall  contain  a  reservation  of  this 
right;  provided,  moreover,  that  if  an  emergency  exists 
which  in  the  written  opinion  of  any  officer  or  board  re- 
quires that  work  be  done,  or  materials  be  bought  without 
the  delay  involved  in  advertising  the  same  as  prescribed  by 
ordinance,  the  mayor  may  in  writing  authorize  the  award 
of  the  contract  without  advertisement,  in  which  case  the 
mayor  shall  on  the  same  day  report  the  facts  in  writing  to 
the  city  coimcil,  together  with  the  reasons  for  dispensing 
with  advertisement. 

In  determining  whether  contracts  or  orders  for  materials 
or  work  exceed  one  thousand  dollars  in  amount  regard  shall 
be  had  to  the  true  nature  of  the  materials  or  work  and  to 
the  purpose  of  the  contracts  or  orders,  and  the  same  shall 
not  be  so  divided  or  otherwise  treated  as  to  make  a  number 
of  contracts  or  orders  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars 
in  amoimt  out  of  work  or  purchases  which  upon  principles 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  137 

of  ordinary  business  prudence  should  be  done  or  made 
under  contracts  or  orders  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars 
in  amount. ^^ 

No  bid  for  materials  or  work  shall  be  rejected  on  the  Residence 
ground  that  the  person,  firm  or  corporation  making  it  is  ° 
not  domiciled  or  organized  in  the  city  or  state;   and  no 
such  limitation  shall  be  inserted  in  any  advertisement.^^ 

Every  contract,  lease  or  order  for  materials  or  work,  and  Enforce- 
every  alteration  in  a  contract  or  order  not  executed  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be 
voidable  upon  petition  as  provided  in  section  two  of 
article  XI.^^ 

Section  2.  Repairs  and  work  necessary  for  the  main-  Work  that 
tenance  of  city  property,  including  additions,  alterations  ^^^^^  y^y 
and  improvements  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  in  any  case  contract  ^ 
one  thousand  dollars,  may  be  executed  by  day  labor  or  by 
contract;  but  work  of  original  construction  and  additions, 
alterations  and  improvements  costing  in  any  case  more 
than  one  thousand  dollars  shall  be  let  out  by  contract.  In 
determining  what  is  original  construction  and  what  the 
cost  of  an  addition,  alteration  or  improvement  will  be,  re- 
gard shall  be  paid  to  the  true  structural  character  of  the 
work,  and  the  same  shall  not  be  so  divided  or  otherwise 
treated  as  to  bring  within  this  sum  the  cost  of  work  which 
in  its  true  structural  character  will  cost  more;  and  no  con- 
struction work  which  is  of  annual  recurrence,  such  as  the 
extension  of  water  mains,  gas  pipes  and  electric  wires,  shall 
be  done  by  day  labor  to  a  greater  amount  in  any  year  than 
one  thousand  dollars. 

Section  3.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  the  mayor  or  for  a  Collusive 
member  of  the  city  council  or  for  any  officer  or  employee  ^^^  ^ 
of  the  city  directly  or  indirectly  to  make  a  contract  with 
the  city,  or  to  receive  any  commission,  discount,  bonus, 
gift,  contribution,  or  reward  from,  or  any  share  in  the 
profits  of  any  person  or  corporation  making  or  performing 
such  contract,  xmless  such  mayor,  member  of  the  city  coun- 
cil, officer  or  employee,  immediately  upon  learning  of  the 
existence  of  such  contract  or  that  such  contract  is  pro- 
posed, shall  notify  in  writing  the  mayor  and  the  city  co\m- 


138 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Enforce- 
ment 


Moneys 
belonging 
to  the  city 


Appropria- 
tions not 
to  be 
exceeded  ^^ 


Payments 
for  salaries, 
wages,  ma- 
terials and 
work 


cil  of  the  nature  of  his  interest  in  such  contract,  and  shall 
abstain  from  doing  any  official  act  on  behalf  of  the  city  in 
reference  thereto.  In  case  of  such  interest  on  the  part  of 
an  officer  whose  duty  it  is  to  sign  such  contract  on  behalf 
of  the  city,  the  contract  may  be  signed  by  any  other  officer 
of  the  city  duly  authorized  thereto  by  the  mayor,  or  if  the 
mayor  has  such  interest,  by  the  city  clerk;  provided,  how- 
ever, that  when  a  contractor  with  the  city  is  a  corporation 
or  a  voluntary  stock  association,  the  ownership  of  less  than 
five  per  cent  of  the  stock  or  shares  actually  issued  shall  not 
be  considered  as  involving  an  interest  in  the  contract  with- 
in the  meaning  of  this  section,  and  such  ownership  shall 
not  affect  the  vaUdity  of  the  contract  unless  the  owner  of 
such  stock  or  shares  is  also  an  officer  or  agent  of  the  cor- 
poration or  association,  or  soUcits  or  takes  part  in  the 
making  of  the  contract. 

A  violation  of  any  provision  of  this  section  shall  render 
the  contract  in  respect  to  which  such  violation  occurs 
voidable  upon  petition  as  provided  in  section  two  of 
article  XI.^^ 

Section  4.  All  moneys  received  by  any  officer  or  em- 
ployee of  the  city  or  by  the  school  committee  or  any  mem- 
ber or  employee  thereof  for  or  in  connection  with  the  busi- 
ness of  the  city,  and  all  costs,  fees,  emoluments  or  profits 
of  whatsoever  kind  received  in  connection  with  said  busi- 
ness shall  forthwith  be  paid  to  the  city  treasurer. 

Section  5.  No  officer  shall,  except  as  authorized  by 
section  four  of  article  VII  expend  intentionally  in  any  fiscal 
year  any  sum  in  excess  of  the  appropriations  duly  made  for 
his  respective  department,  or  involve  the  city  in  any  con- 
tract for  the  future  payment  of  money  in  excess  of  such 
appropriations;  but  nothing  in  this  section  shall  sanction 
the  expenditure  of  money  for  any  purpose  not  authorized 
by  this  act. 

Section  6.  Payments  by  the  city  for  materials  or  work, 
other  than  payments  to  persons  employed  upon  a  salary  or 
by  the  day,  shall  be  made  by  the  city  treasurer  upon  certifi- 
cates that  the  money  is  due,  signed  by  the  officer  or  board 
in  charge  of  the  work,  and  approved  in  writing  by  the  city 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 39 

auditor  and  the  mayor,  and  in  return  for  a  receipt  signed 
by  the  person  entitled  to  receive  payment. 

No  officer  or  member  of  a  board  shall  intentionally  certi- 
fy, and  the  city  auditor  and  mayor  shall  not  intentionally 
approve  an  amount  greater  than  the  sum  actually  due 
under  the  contract  or  order. 

Payments  for  salaries,  whether  yearly,  monthly  or 
weekly,  shall  be  made  as  soon  after  the  first  day  in  each 
month  as  practicable  upon  pay-rolls  certified  by  the  officers 
and  boards  in  charge  of  the  several  departments,  and  ap- 
proved in  writing  by  the  city  auditor  and  the  mayor,  and 
in  return  for  a  receipt  signed  by  the  persons  entitled  to 
receive  payment  .^^ 

Payments  for  day  wages  shall  be  made  each  week  for  the 
work  done  in  that  or  the  preceding  week  upon  pay-rolls 
certified  by  the  officers  and  boards  in  charge  of  the  several 
departments  and  approved  in  writing  by  the  city  auditor 
and  the  mayor  and  in  return  for  a  receipt  signed  by  the 
person  entitled  to  receive  payment. 

Section  7.  Claims  against  the  city  not  certified  and  Payment  of 
approved  as  provided  in  section  six  of  this  article,  and  not  ^^^^^  ^^ 
exceeding  five  hundred  dollars  in  amount,  may  be  paid  if 
authority  is  given  by  the  mayor  and  city  council  and  the 
claimant  has  filed  with  the  city  clerk  an  agreement  to  ac- 
cept the  sum  in  full  satisfaction  of  the  claim,  and  the  city 
soHcitor  has  filed  with  the  city  auditor  a  written  opinion 
that  the  claim  is  a  valid  one  or  is  one  which  in  his  judgment 
may  properly  be  compromised. 

No  such  claim  exceeding  five  hundred  dollars  shall  be 
paid  except  upon  execution  issued  after  judgment  against 
the  city  in  a  suit  brought  to  recover  the  same,  and  judg- 
ment shall  not  be  entered  for  the  plaintiff  by  consent  unless 
the  parties  are  at  issue  and  the  amount  of  the  judgment  has 
been  approved  by  the  mayor  and  city  council  upon  the 
written  recommendation  of  the  city  solicitor. 


Section  8.      Every  officer  and  board  and  the  school  Records 

and 
accounts 


committee  shall  keep  in  such  form  as  shall  from  time  to  ^^ 


time  be  prescribed  by  the  city  auditor,  proper  books,  and 
accounts  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  the  depart- 


140  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

ment,  of  the  obligations  incurred,  and  of  the  work  done; 
which  books  and  accounts  shall  at  all  reasonable  times  be 
open  to  the  inspection  of  the  mayor,  the  city  auditor  and 
any  member  of  the  city  council. 

Every  oJBScer  and  board  and  the  school  committee  shall 
submit  the  estimates  required  by  section  two  of  article  VII 
of  this  act;  shall,  on  or  before  the  fifteenth  day  of  January 
in  each  year,  submit  to  the  mayor  and  the  city  council  a 
report  describing  concisely  the  work  and  financial  opera- 
tions of  the  department  during  the  preceding  fiscal  year;  ^ 
and  shall,  on  or  before  the  fifth  day  of  May  in  each  year 
submit  to  the  city  auditor  a  list  of  the  employees  of  such 
officer  or  board  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  April  preceding, 
giving  for  each  employee  name,  residence  by  street  and 
ward,  designation,  compensation  and  date  of  appointment 
or  employment. 

Article  IX.     Duties  of  Particular  Departments 

In  general"  SECTION  i.  The  several  officers,  boards  and  division 
heads  shall  exercise  all  the  powers  conferred  and  perform 
all  the  duties  imposed  upon  them  by  the  other  articles  of 
this  act,  or  by  any  general  or  special  law  or  ordinance 
not  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  shall 
in  particular  perform  the  duties  set  forth  in  this  article  and 
in  article  VII. 

Law  de-  Section  2.     The  city  solicitor  shall  prosecute  or  defend 

^  ®°  all  actions  and  proceedings  brought  by  or  against  the  city 
or  any  of  its  officers;  but  may  employ  special  counsel  under 
the  provisions  of  section  three  of  article  VI.  He  shall, 
when  requested,  advise  the  officers  and  departments  of 
the  city  in  respect  to  their  powers  and  duties,  and,  if  re- 
quested, shall  give  written  opinions  upon  questions  brought 
before  him  by  the  mayor,  city  council,  school  committee, 
or  any  officer  or  board.  He  shall  prepare  proper  forms  of 
contracts,  notes  and  other  obligations,  proposals  for  public 
work,  and  such  legal  instruments  as  may  be  needed  by  any 
department  and  shall  endorse  on  each  his  approval  of  the 
form  and  correctness  thereof. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  I4I 

Section  3.     The  commissioner  of  public  safety  shall  Public 
make  such  niles  as  he  sees  fit  for  the  administration  of  his  partment" 
department;  but  the  number  of  police  officers  and  firemen 
and  their  salaries  shall  not  exceed  the  respective  number 
and  salaries  established  by  ordinance. 

Subordinate  members  of  the  department  may  be  tried 
before  a  board  of  three  superior  officers  appointed  by  the 
commissioner  upon  written  charges  made  by  another  offi- 
cer or  any  citizen,  but  the  commissioner  may  dismiss  triv- 
ial charges  without  a  trial.  Members  of  the  department 
on  trial  may  be  assisted  by  counsel.  The  trial  board  shall 
forward  its  findings  to  the  commissioner,  who  shall  take 
such  action  as  he  deems  fit,  which  action  shall  be  final. 
The  membership  of  the  trial  board  shall  be  changed  from 
time  to  time. 

The  vital  statistics  of  the  city  shall  be  prepared  by  the 
board  of  health  provided  in  section  one  of  article  VI;  and 
the  records  thereof  shall  be  deposited  with  the  city  clerk. 

The  commissioner  shall  be  the  chief  administrative  auth- 
ority in  all  matters  affecting  the  inspection  and  regulation 
of  the  erection,  maintenance,  repair,  and  occupancy  of 
buildings;  and  in  all  matters  affecting  the  inspection  and 
regulation  of  weights  and  measures  used  in  the  city. 

Section  4.  The  commissioner  of  public  works  shall  Public 
have  the  direction  and  control  of  the  construction,  main-  ^tment" 
tenance,  repair,  and  lighting  of  the  public  streets,  ways  and 
sidewalks;  of  the  construction,  maintenance,  and  repair 
of  the  public  buildings;  of  the  construction,  maintenance, 
and  repair  of  the  pubUc  sewers;  of  the  construction,  main- 
tenance, and  repair  of  the  public  bridges,  canals,  tunnels 
and  culverts;  of  the  construction,  care,  superintendence, 
and  management  of  the  public  parks  and  grounds,  and  of 
the  shade  and  ornamental  trees  growing  thereon;  and  of 
the  collection  and  disposal  of  refuse. 

The  superintendent  of  streets  shall  under  such  provisions  Superin- 
as  may  be  established  by  ordinance  issue  permits  for  all  streets* 
persons  or  corporations  who  desire  to  dig  in  or  otherwise 
obstruct  the  public  streets  for  any  lawful  purpose,  and 
shall  see  that  the  same  are  restored  to  their  original  condi- 


142 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


City 
engineer 


Penal  in- 
stitutions 
depart- 
ment 

Treasury 
depart- 
ment 


tion  and  that  all  fees  and  penalties  for  such  openings  are 
collected  and  paid  to  the  city  treasurer. 

The  city  engineer  shall  give  his  whole  time  to  the  city, 
and  shall  attend  to  all  the  engineering  work  of  the  city. 
He  shall,  at  the  request  of  the  mayor,  city  council,  com- 
missioner of  property  or  commissioner  of  pubHc  works,  pre- 
pare plans,  estimates  and  specifications  for  the  construction 
or  alteration  of  streets,  sidewalks,  bridges,  sewers,  conduits, 
water  works  or  any  other  work  within  the  training  of  a 
civil  engineer.  He  shall  assist  the  city  solicitor  in  defend- 
ing the  city  against  suits  and  claims  brought  against  it  for 
damages  due  to  alleged  defects  in  the  public  ways  or  other 
causes;  and  may  be  called  on  by  the  mayor,  the  city  coun- 
cil, the  school  committee  or  any  department  for  advice  or 
services  such  as  a  civil  engineer  may  be  expected  to  furnish. 

Section  5.  The  commissioner  of  penal  institutions 
shall  manage  and  control  all  correctional  and  reformatory 
institutions  and  agencies  belonging  to  the  city. 

Section  6.  The  city  treasurer  shall  collect  and  receive 
all  moneys  due  the  city,  including  taxes,  rents,  water  rates, 
and  receipts  from  other  productive  enterprises,  assess- 
ments for  sewers,  drains,  sidewalks  and  other  purposes, 
loans  and  all  other  sources  whatsoever,  and  shall  have  the 
custody  of  all  moneys  and  securities  belonging  to  the  city 
except  as  provided  in  section  twelve  of  article  X. 

He  shall  deposit  the  money  of  the  city  in  such  banks  as 
he  may,  with  the  approval  of  the  mayor,  select,  except 
banks  in  which  he  or  the  mayor  is  an  officer,  director  or 
stockholder,  unless  the  city  council,  after  notice  of  the  facts, 
shall  permit  deposits  in  banks  in  which  he  or  the  mayor  is 
interested.  He  shall  have  the  custody  of  the  sinking  funds 
of  the  city  and  shall  invest  them  in  the  manner  provided 
by  section  thirteen  of  article  VII.  He  shall  once  a  month, 
or  oftener  if  required,  lay  before  the  mayor  and  the  city 
council  a  detailed  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  treas- 
ury and  of  all  moneys  received  and  paid  by  him  during 
the  preceding  month. 

He  shall  pay  out  money  for  salaries,  wages,  materials, 
and  work  only  on  certificates  as  provided  in  section  six  of 
article  VIII. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  I43 

Section  7.  The  city  auditor  shall  have  general  super-  Accounting 
vision  of  the  books,  accounts  and  reports  of  the  several  ^qj^^ 
departments,  shall  from  time  to  time  prescribe  the  manner 
in  which  the  same  shall  be  kept,  and  shall  keep  an  inde- 
pendent set  of  books  showing  the  receipts,  appropriations, 
expenditures,  obligations  of  the  several  departments,  and 
issue  warrants  for  the  payment  of  all  claims  against  the 
city  treasury. 

The  auditor  shall  examine  all  pay-rolls,  claims,  bills,  and 
demands,  shall  see  that  they  are  in  proper  form,  correctly 
computed  and  duly  authenticated.  He  may  require  the 
claimant  to  make  oath  to  the  validity  of  a  claim  or  bill. 
He  may  investigate  any  claim,  and,  if  he  thinks  it  is  errone- 
ous, fraudulent  or  otherwise  invalid,  shall  withhold  his 
approval. 

During  the  month  of  January  in  each  year  the  auditor  Annual 
shall  submit  to  the  mayor  and  to  the  city  council  a  printed  '®^^ 
report  of  the  financial  operations  of  the  city  during  the  pre- 
ceding year,  with  such  data  for  previous  years  as  may  be 
useful  for  comparisons.  This  report  shall  include  a  table 
showing  the  population  of  the  city  according  to  the  state 
and  federal  census  during  the  past  thirty  years;  tables 
showing  for  each  of  the  ten  preceding  years  the  [number  of 
polls  assessed,  the]*  assessors'  valuation  of  real  and  personal 
estate,  the  aggregate  appropriations  payable  from  taxes  or 
revenue,  the  state  taxes,  the  county  taxes,  the  total  tax 
levy  upon  property  and  the  tax  rate;  a  table  showing  sepa- 
rately the  receipts  [from  poll  taxes]*  from  taxes  upon  prop- 
erty and  from  revenue,  appHcable  to  current  expenses  dur- 
ing each  of  said  ten  years,  and  separately  the  percentage 
of  the  taxes  upon  [polls  and]*  property  levied  in  each  of 
said  ten  years  which  was  received  before  the  first  day  of 
January  in  the  succeeding  year;  a  table  showing  the 
aggregate  receipts  from  taxes  and  revenue,  the  aggregate 
appropriations,  including  transfers,  chargeable  thereto,  and 
the  disposition  of  the  surplus,  if  any,  for  each  of  the  pre- 
ceding ten  fiscal  years;  tables  showing  for  each  depart- 
ment, division  or  item  for  which  money  was  appropriated, 
the  appropriations,  including  transfers,  the  receipts  from 

*  For  use  in  states  where  a  poll  tax  is  assessed. 


144  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

revenue  and  the  expenditures  during  each  of  the  preceding 
ten  fiscal  years;  tables  showing  all  the  loans  authorized 
and  the  loans  issued  by  the  city  since  its  incorporation,  the 
payments  into  the  sinking  funds,  the  payments  on  account 
of  the  principal  of  the  said  loans,  and  the  amounts  due  on 
the  same,  together  with  the  sinking  funds  applicable  there- 
to, at  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year  preceding  the  report,  said 
data  being  given  separately  for  each  fiscal  year  and  each 
loan,  and  also  in  summarized  form;  a  table  showing  the 
gross  and  net  indebtedness  of  the  city  at  the  close  of  each 
fiscal  year  since  its  first  incorporation  for  other  purposes 
than  water,  gas,  electric  and  other  productive  enterprises, 
and  the  percentage  of  such  net  debt  to  the  assessors'  valua- 
tion of  property  for  the  year;  a  list  of  all  outstanding  obU- 
gations  with  the  amount  maturing  each  year,  and  the  rate 
and  amount  due  for  interest  thereon  [a  list  of  all  loans 
authorized,  and  of  all  loans  issued,  by  special  authority  of 
the  legislature  outside  the  debt  limit  established  by  general 
law,  and  a  statement  of  the  gross  debt,  sinking  funds  and 
net  debt  at  the  close  of  each  fiscal  year  outside  the  said 
limit]t  a  list  of  all  loans  authorized,  but  not  issued  at  the 
close  of  the  fiscal  year;  and  a  list  of  all  loans  issued  in  antic- 
ipation of  taxes  during  each  of  the  preceding  ten  fiscal 
years,  giving  the  date  for  each  loan  and  payment,  together 
with  the  amount  of  such  debt,  if  any,  outstanding  at  the 
close  of  the  fiscal  year. 

The  annual  report  shall  also  include  tables  showing  the 
financial  condition  and  operation  during  the  year  of  the 
water,  gas,  electric,  and  other  productive  enterprises  be- 
longing to  the  city,  which  tables  shall  be  prepared  in  the 
manner  prescribed  in  section  nine  of  article  X  for  the  keep- 
ing of  the  accounts  of  these  enterprises. 

The  report  shall  also  include  copies  of  the  statements 
required  of  the  auditor  by  section  two  of  article  VII,  and 
of  all  the  appropriation  and  loan  orders  passed  during  the 
year;  a  full  statement  of  the  investment  of  all  trust  and 
sinking  funds;  and  such  further  information  as  may  be 
prescribed  by  ordinance. 

t  For  use  in  case  there  is  a  debt  limit. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  I4S 

If  any  state,  county  or  district  loans  are  payable  by  the 
city  either  directly  or  to  the  state,  county  or  district  in  part 
01  wholly  as  to  either  principal  or  interest,  the  report  shall 
include  a  full  statement  of  such  loans,  gross  and  net,  out- 
standing at  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year  and  a  calculation  of 
the  pioportionate  part  of  said  loans  thus  payable  by  the 
city.66 

The  report  shall  contain  a  statement  of  all  the  property 
of  the  city  not  used  or  kept  for  any  municipal  purpose  and 
available  for  sale. 

No  statement  of  assets  and  liabilities  which  includes 
property  owned  by  the  city  and  used  or  kept  for  any  muni- 
cipal purpose  shall  be  made.^^ 

[The  auditor  shall  also  prepare  a  report  of  the  receipts 
and  expenditures  of  the  year  in  such  form  as  may  be  re- 
quired by  law  for  the  use  of  any  state  authority  and,  if 
required  by  law  or  ordinance,  shall  include  the  same  in 
condensed  form,  in  his  annual  report.]  *  ^^ 

The  auditor  shall  at  the  beginning  of  each  month  sub-  Monthly 
mit  to  the  mayor  and  to  the  city  council  a  printed  state- 
ment showing  for  each  department  or  item  in  the  appro- 
priation orders  the  total  receipts,  credits  and  expenditures 
to  the  close  of  the  preceding  month,  and  the  imexpended 
balance  to  the  credit  of  the  department  or  item  on  the  first 
day  of  the  month. 

During  the  month  of  May  in  each  year  the  auditor  shall  ListTof 
transmit  to  the  mayor  and  to  the  city  council  a  printed  list  ®°^^  oyees 
of  the  employees  of  each  department  on  the  thirtieth  day 
of  April  preceding,  stating  for  each  employee  name,  resi- 
dence by  street  and  ward,  designation,  compensation  and 
date  of  appointment  for  employment. 

The  city  auditor  shall  have  charge  of  all  stationery  Stationery 
bought  and  of  all  printing  ordered  for  the  several  depart- 
ments. He  shall,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  article  VIII, 
order  the  supplies  and  make  the  contracts  required  by 
the  several  departments  and  shall  apportion  the  cost  be- 
tween the  same  according  to  their  respective  require- 
ments. 

*  For  use  in  case  there  is  such  a  law. 


146 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Recording 
department 


Assessing 
department 


Licensing 
depart- 
ment 70 


Election 
department 


Section  8.  The  city  clerk  shall  be  clerk  of  the  city 
council,  and  shall  keep  a  journal  of  all  its  votes  and  pro- 
ceedings. He  shall  engross  all  the  ordinances  passed  by 
the  mayor  and  city  council  in  a  book  provided  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  shall  add  proper  indexes,  which  book  shall  be 
deemed  a  public  record  of  such  ordinances. 

He  shall  administer  and  record  the  oaths  provided  in 
section  two  of  articles  III,  IV  and  V,  and  shall  file  all  bonds 
required  by  section  one  of  article  VI.  He  shall  have  the 
custody  of  the  vital  records  of  the  city  as  prepared  by  the 
board  of  health  and  of  such  other  records  and  papers  as 
may  by  ordinance  be  intrusted  to  his  care. 

Section  9.  The  board  of  assessors  shall  assess  each 
separate  parcel  of  real  estate  and  item  of  personal  property 

at  its  fair  cash  or  market  value  on  the f  day  of f 

in  each  year,  meaning  the  sum  which  the  parcel  or  item 
would  probably  have  brought  in  cash  on  or  about  that  date 
if  the  owner  had  offered  it  for  sale  and  had  used  reasonable 
efforts  to  secure  a  customer.  In  assessing  improved  real 
estate,  the  board  shall  consider  the  net  rents  or  net  rental 
value  of  the  property  as  it  stands,  as  well  as  the  value  of 
the  land  and  the  cost  and  condition  of  the  buildings,  and 
shall  assess  as  the  value  of  the  buildings  the  amoimt  by 
which  the  same  increase  the  market  value  of  the  land.^^ 

The  board  of  assessors  shall,  when  requested,  prepare 
the  estimates  as  required  in  section  four  of  article  IV  for 
use  by  the  mayor  and  council  for  the  acquisition  of  real 
estate  by  the  city. 

Section  10.  The  board  of  license  commissioners  shall 
issue  all  licenses  and  permits  as  provided  by  statute,  ordi- 
nance, or  this  act,  except  the  permits  for  street  openings 
referred  to  in  section  four  of  this  article.  A  record  shall 
be  kept  in  the  office  of  the  board  of  all  such  licenses  and 
permits,  and  shall  be  open  for  public  inspection. 

Section  ii.  The  board  of  election  commissioners  shall 
have  the  powers  conferred  by  law  upon  such  officers  of 
cities.     It  shall  have  all  the  powers  conferred  and  be  sub- 


t  The  date  differs  in  the  different  states. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  I47 

ject  to  all  the  duties  imposed  by  law  upon  city  clerks, 
boards  of  election  commissioners,  and  other  mimicipal 
officers  and  boards  in  respect  to  the  registration  of  voters 
and  the  conduct  of  elections  in  the  city. 

It  shall  also  have  full  charge  of  the  preparation  of  the 
voting  lists  and  of  the  drawing  of  jurors,  and  shall  have  all 
the  powers  conferred  and  be  subject  to  all  the  duties  im- 
posed by  law  upon  boards  of  aldermen  or  any  municipal 
officer  or  board  in  respect  of  such  lists  and  jurors/^ 

Section  12.     The  board  of  public  charities  shall  have  Public 
all  powers  vested  by  law  or  ordinance  in  officers  or  boards  department 
for  the  control  and  maintenance  of  charitable  institutions, 
the  administration  of  poor  relief,  the  control  and  manage- 
ment of  institutions  for  the  care  of  the  insane,  and  the 
estabHshment,  management  and  care  of  cemeteries. 

Section  13.     The  board  of  trustees  of  the  public  library  Public 
shall  have  all  powers  vested  by  law  or  oidinance  in  officers  dep«Snent 
or  boards  for  the  establishment,  management  and  care  of 
free  libraries. 

Article  X.     Municipal  Property 
Section  i.    Real  estate  and  other  property  belonging  to  Property 
the  city  and  used  or  held  for  the  exclusive  use  of  any  de-  ordinary 
partment  shall  be  in  charge  of  that  department.     Prop-  municipal 
erty  used  by  more  than  one  department,  buildings  used  P^"T*°^®^ 
for  general  municipal  purposes,  real  estate  belonging  to  the 
city  and  rented  for  commercial  purposes,  and  real  estate 
belonging  to  the  city  and  not  used  or  kept  for  any  municipal 
purpose  shall  be  in  charge  of  the  commissioner  of  property, 
who  shall  have  the  management,  care,  repair  and  leasing 
of  the  same. 

Leases  of  property  in  charge  of  the  commissioner  shall 
be  in  such  form  as  may  be  approved  by  the  city  solicitor 
and  shall  be  signed  by  the  commissioner  and  approved  in 
writing  by  the  mayor.  No  such  lease  shall  be  valid  if  it  is 
for  a  term  of  more  than  one  year  unless  after  signature  and 
approval  as  aforesaid  it  is  approved  by  the  city  council 
after  a  public  hearing  of  which  at  least  seven  days'  notice 
shall  be  given  in  one  or  more  newspapers  pubUshed  in  the 
city. 


148 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Property 
used  for 
business 
enterprises 


Establish- 
ment of 
water,  gas 
or  electric 
works 


Votes  of 
mayor  and 
citjr  coimcil 


Real  estate  belonging  to  the  city  and  not  used  or  required 
for  any  municipal  purpose  may  be  sold  by  the  commis- 
sioner with  the  approval  in  each  case  of  the  mayor  and 
city  council. 

Section  2.  The  commissioner  of  property  shall  have 
charge  of  all  water  works,  gas  works,  electric  works,  mar- 
kets, ferries,  docks,  wharves,  and  other  enterprises  at  any 
time  belonging  to  the  city  in  connection  with  which  rents, 
tolls,  rates  or  fares  are  charged  to  private  customers,  and 
of  all  property  belonging  to  the  city  and  used  or  held  in 
connection  therewith  or  procured  from  said  rents,  tolls, 
rates  or  fares  or  from  any  loans  issued  for  the  benefit  of  said 
enterprises.  The  commissioner  shall  establish  a  separate 
division  for  each  of  said  enterprises  which  shall  be  placed 
in  charge  of  a  manager  appointed  as  provided  in  section 
three  of  article  VI;  but  the  manager  of  the  gas  works  may 
also  be  appointed  manager  of  the  electric  works,  and  if  in 
the  case  of  any  of  said  enterprises  the  entire  property  is 
operated  by  lease  or  contract,  the  commissioner  may  dis- 
pense with  the  appointment  of  a  manager  for  that  division. 
The  accounts  of  the  department  shall,  so  far  as  practicable, 
be  kept  separately  for  each  division. 

No  lease  of  any  of  said  enterprises  except  markets,  docks, 
and  wharves  nor  any  contract  for  the  operation  thereof 
shall  be  made  without  the  special  consent  of  the  legislature. 

Section  3 .  If  on  the  passage  of  this  act  the  city  does  not 
own  a  water,  gas  or  electric  light  or  power  plant  but  shall 
hereafter  desire  to  acquire  such  a  plant  and  to  engage  in 
the  business  of  furnishing  water,  gas  or  electricity,  as  the 
case  may  be,  for  municipal  and  private  use,  it  shall  have  the 
right  to  do  so  and  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  act  to 
borrow  money  for  the  purpose  of  pajdng  for  any  such  plant 
and  extensions  thereof;  provided  that  the  city  council  shall 
in  two  successive  years  vote  to  acquire  and  operate  such  a 
plant,  the  said  votes  being  separated  by  a  period  of  at  least 
one  year  and  being  both  approved  by  the  mayor  within 
the  fifteen  days  allowed  for  his  approval  of  votes  involving 
the  expenditure  of  money  under  section  four  of  article  III, 
and  provided  further  that  the  said  votes  are  approved  by 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  I49 

a  majority  of  the  voters  present  and  voting  at  a  special  Special 
election  called  and  held  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law  ®  ®^  ^^ 
as  modified  by  this  act,  within  sixty  days  after  the  submis- 
sion of  the  second  of  said  votes  duly  approved  by  the 

mayor  to  the *  hereinafter  in  this  article  called  the 

state  board.  Said  board  shall  examine  the  question  and  Report  of 
shall  within  thirty  days  after  the  submission  of  the  said  bcfard^^ 
second  vote  send  to  the  mayor  and  to  the  city  council  a 
written  opinion  or  report  on  the  advisability  of  the  action 
contemplated  by  said  vote.  This  report  shall  be  pub- 
lished in  full  in  two  daily  papers  published  in  the  city  and 
a  printed  copy  shall  be  mailed  to  each  registered  voter; 
such  publication  and  maiHng  to  be  done  at  least  three  weeks 
before  the  special  election.  In  case  the  report  of  said 
board  is  not  made,  published  and  mailed  as  hereinbefore 
provided  the  court  may  on  petition  of  ten  taxable  inhabi- 
tants adjourn  the  special  election  until  a  date  three  weeks 
after  the  report  has  been  received  and  published  and  mailed. 
If  at  the  special  election  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  upon 
the  question  submitted  are  in  the  afl&rmative  the  city  shall 
have  the  right  to  acquire  a  plant  and  to  borrow  money 
therefor  and  to  operate  the  same  as  in  this  act  provided.  ^^ 

If  at  the  passage  of  this  act  the  city  owns  a  water,  gas  Extensions 
or  electric  works  or  acquires  one  under  the  provisions  of 
this  article,  the  commissioner  of  property  may  from  time 
to  time  with  the  approval  of  the  mayor  and  city  coimcil 
extend,  enlarge  and  improve  the  same  and  subject  to  the 
provisions  of  this  act  may  borrow  money  for  the  purpose. 

No  loans  shall  be  issued  to  acquire  a  water  works,  gas  Loans 
works  or  electric  works  or  to  extend,  enlarge  or  improve 
the  same  except  as  provided  in  article  VII,  and  in  apply- 
ing the  provisions  of  section  nine  of  said  article  if  the  loan 
is  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  property  which  belongs 
partly  to  one  class  and  partly  to  another  class  according  to 
the  classification  set  out  in  said  section,  it  shall  be  divided 
accordingly.  If  the  property  is  acquired  by  judicial  valu- 
ation as  hereinafter  provided,  the  loans  shall  be  divided 
according  to  the  items  of  the  award.     In  other  cases  the 

*  Here  insert  the  title  of  the  state  board,  if  any,  having  the  supervision  of  the 
operations  of  water,  gas  and  electric  works.    The  title  varies  in  the  different  states. 


ISO 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Acquisition 
of  existing 
plants  7* 

(a)  Under  a 

charter 

contract 


(b)  Under 
an  exclu- 
sive fran- 
chise 


(c)  If  no 

charter 

contract  or 

exclusive 

franchise 

exists 


division  shall  be  made  by  the  commissioners  with  the 
approval  of  the  state  board. 

Section  4.  If  at  the  date  of  said  special  election  any 
individual  or  corporation  has  a  lawful  charter  or  franchise 
for  supplying,  distributing  or  selling  water,  gas  or  electric- 
ity in  the  city  or  any  part  thereof,  which  charter  or  fran- 
chise provides  that  if  a  plant  is  estabHshed  by  the  city  or 
its  predecessors  in  title  for  the  distribution  of  the  com- 
modity suppHed,  distributed  or  sold  by  said  individual  or 
corporation,  the  property  or  franchises  of  said  individual 
or  corporation  shall  be  acquired  upon  certain  terms  and 
conditions  set  forth  in  said  charter  or  franchise,  an  affirma- 
tive vote  at  said  election  shall  be  deemed  to  be  a  compliance 
with  said  charter  or  franchise,  and  all  questions  of  transfer 
and  payment  shall  be  adjusted  as  in  said  charter  or  fran- 
chise provided. 

If  at  the  time  of  said  election  any  individual  or  corpora- 
tion has  a  lawful  and  exclusive  charter  or  franchise  for 
supplying,  distributing  or  selling  water,  gas  or  electricity 
in  the  city  or  any  part  thereof,  and  said  charter  or  franchise 
contains  no  provision  for  acquisition  by  the  city  or  its  pre- 
decessors in  title  of  the  property  or  franchises  of  the  said 
individual  or  corporation,  an  affirmative  vote  at  said  elec- 
tion shall  be  deemed  to  be  a  taking  by  the  city  of  the  prop- 
erty and  franchises  of  such  individual  or  corporation  used 
or  held  for  the  purpose  of  supplying,  distributing  or  selling 
the  commodity  referred  to  in  the  votes  of  the  city  council, 
the  said  property  and  franchises  shall  immediately  vest  in 
the  city,  and  the  same  shall  be  paid  for  in  the  manner  and 
under  the  procedure  provided  by  law  when  private  property 
is  taken  for  public  uses. 

If  at  the  time  of  the  approval  by  the  mayor  of  the  first 
of  the  two  votes  of  the  city  council  mentioned  above,  any 
individual  or  corporation  is  lawfully  operating  in  any  part 
of  the  city  a  plant  for  supplying,  distributing  or  selling  the 
commodity  referred  to  in  said  vote,  under  a  charter  or 
franchise  which  is  not  exclusive  and  which  contains  no 
provision  for  acquisition  by  the  city  or  its  predecessors  in 
title  of  the  property  or  franchises  of  the  said  individual  or 
corporation,  such  individual  or  corporation,  hereinafter 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  IS  I 

called  the  owner,  may  within  six  months  after  the  approval 
of  the  said  first  vote  offer  the  plant  to  the  city  for  a  speci- 
fied price. 

The  offer  shall  be  in  writing  signed  by  the  owner  of  the  Offer  by 
plant  if  an  individual,  and  if  a  corporation  by  its  president  ®  owner 
or  treasurer  supported  by  a  vote  of  the  directors  duly  certi- 
fied. The  offer  shall  contain  a  schedule  of  the  property 
offered  together  with  a  statement  of  all  mortgages,  liens, 
leases  and  contracts  to  which  it  is  subject  or  of  which  it 
has  the  benefit,  and  shall  be  binding  on  the  owners  and  the 
city  if  accepted  by  the  mayor  and  city  council  within  thirty 
days  after  an  affirmative  vote  at  the  special  election  herein- 
before provided;  and  the  sum  named  in  the  offer  shall  be 
paid  by  the  city  to  the  owner  with  interest  from  the  date 
of  the  election.  The  price  named  in  the  offer  shall  not  be 
binding  on  the  owner  if  the  offer  is  not  thus  accepted;  and 
if  a  second  vote  is  not  passed  and  approved  as  and  within 
the  time  hereinbefore  set  out,  or  if  the  vote  at  the  special 
election  is  in  the  negative,  the  entire  offer  shall  be  void. 

If  the  vote  at  the  special  election  is  in  the  affirmative  the 
property  mentioned  in  the  offer  shall  thereupon  vest  in  the 
city;  possession  thereof  shall  at  once  be  taken  by  the  com- 
missioner of  property;  and  the  right  of  the  owner  to  use 
the  public  streets  or  places  or  any  of  them  for  pipes,  con- 
duits, wires  or  other  machinery  for  distributing  the  com- 
modity referred  to  in  said  votes  shall  cease  and  determine. 

If  the  offer  is  not  accepted  within  thirty  days  after  an 
affirmative  vote  at  said  election  the  price  to  be  paid  for  the 
property  shall  be  determined  by  three  commissioners  to  be 
appointed  by  the  court  upon  petition  of  the  owner  or  the 
city,  and  the  price  thus  determined  shall  be  paid  by  the 
city  to  the  owner  with  interest  from  the  date  of  said 
election. 

The  offer  shall  not  include  any  property  or  right  of  any 
kind  except  tangible  personal  property,  real  estate,  and 
easements  and  other  incorporeal  rights  of  property  in  or 
over  land  or  water.  It  shall  not  include  any  right  or  fran- 
chise to  use  or  occupy  the  public  streets  or  places.  If, 
however,  the  owner  or  his  predecessors  in  title  have  paid 
to  any  public  authority  for  the  use  of  the  public  streets 


award 


152  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

and  places  in  the  city  any  cash  sum  as  compensation  once 
for  all  and  not  by  way  of  annual  compensation  or  rent, 
such  sum  without  interest  may  be  included,  as  a  separate 
item  in  the  offer. 
Additions         The  property  vesting  in  the  city  upon  an  affirmative  vote 
subsequent  ^^  ^^^  special  election  shall  include  all  property,  defined  as 
to  o£fer         above,  properly  added  to  the  plant  between  the  date  of 
the  offer  and  the  date  of  the  election;  and  the  amount  by 
which  the  said  additions  increase  the  value  of  the  plant  at 
the  date  of  the  election  above  the  sum  named  in  the  offer 
shall  be  paid  by  the  city  either  as  determined  by  mutual 
agreement  of  the  owner  and  the  mayor  and  city  council  or 
in  default  of  such  agreement  by  the  commissioners  ap- 
pointed as  aforesaid. 
Basis^of  In  case  the  price  to  be  paid  by  the  city  for  the  plant  is 

determined  by  commissioners  the  same  shall  be  fixed  at  the 
fair  market  value  at  the  date  of  said  election,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  supplying  and  distributing  or  selling  the  commodity 
referred  to  in  said  votes,  of  the  tangible  personal  property, 
real  estate,  easements  and  other  incorporeal  rights  of  prop- 
erty in  or  over  land  or  water  belonging  to  the  owner  and 
used  or  reasonably  held  for  said  purposes,  not  including, 
however,  any  right  or  franchise  to  use  or  occupy  the  pub- 
lic streets  or  places,  or  any  right  to  sell  the  commodity 
dealt  in,  or  any  other  statutory  privilege;  and  no  account 
shall  be  taken  of  the  income,  gross  or  net,  which  the  owner 
obtained  or  could  obtain  from  the  sale  or  delivery  of  the 
said  commodity;  but  the  cost  of  producing  or  conducting 
and  distributing  the  said  commodity  shall  be  taken  into 
account.  The  award  of  the  commissioners  shall  in  no 
case  exceed  the  cost  to  procure  and  install  a  plant  equiva- 
lent in  capacity,  efficiency  and  economy  of  operation  to 
that  in  question  after  making  due  allowance  for  the  physi- 
cal condition  of  the  latter  and  for  the  relative  cost  of 
operating  the  two  plants.  Interest  during  construction 
and  all  other  elements  of  value  not  dependent  on  the  earn- 
ings of  the  plant  or  on  the  possession  of  rights  in  the  pub- 
lic streets  and  places  shall  be  considered,  and  the  foregoing 
reference  to  the  cost  of  an  alternative  plant  shall  be  re- 
garded as  a  Umiting  direction,  not  as  one  to  be  followed 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  I  S3 

in  all  cases;  the  intent  being  that  the  owner  shall  receive 
for  his  plant  the  sum  which  the  commissioners  conclude 
that  a  reasonable  purchaser  having  the  necessary  street 
franchises  but  no  plant  would  be  willing  to  pay  for  the 
plant  in  question,  irrespective  of  earnings  and  franchises, 
rather  than  purchase  a  new  one  or  abandon  the  under- 
taking. Provided,  however,  that  if  the  owner  or  his  pred- 
ecessors in  title  have  paid  to  any  public  authority  for  the 
use  of  the  public  streets  and  places  in  the  city  any  cash 
sum  as  compensation  once  for  all  and  not  by  way  of  annual 
compensation  or  rent,  such  sum  shall  be  included  without 
interest  in  the  award  if  it  was  included  as  a  separate  item 
in  the  offer. 

The  commissioners  shall  have  the  right  to  exclude  from  Property  to 
the  valuation  and  award  such  property  as  at  the  date  of  ®  ^  ^^ 
the  election  was  not  used  and  was  not  being  reasonably 
reserved  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  or  distributing  or 
selling  the  commodity  referred  to  in  said  votes;  and  any 
property  thus  excluded  from  the  award  shall  forthwith  be 
conveyed  or  transferred  by  the  city  to  the  owner,  who 
shall  not  be  entitled  to  any  compensation  for  the  possession 
of  said  property  by  the  city.  The  commissioners  shall 
have  the  right  to  include  in  the  award  and  order  to  be 
transferred  to  the  city  any  land,  buildings,  machinery  or 
rights  of  property  belonging  to  the  owner  at  the  date  of 
the  election  which  are  reasonably  necessary  for  present  or 
future  use  in  connection  with  the  property  offered  but 
which  were  not  included  in  the  offer;  and  such  property 
shall  forthwith  be  conveyed  or  transferred  by  the  owner 
to  the  city.  The  commissioners  shall  have  the  right  to 
exclude  from  the  valuation  and  award  any  lease  or  con- 
tract which  in  their  opinion  is  a  disadvantageous  one,  or 
they  may  include  the  said  lease  or  contract  and  make  due 
allowance  for  it  in  the  award;  in  which  event  the  said 
lease  or  contract  shall  vest  in  the  city. 

The  award  shall  state  the  value  of  the  property  both  at 
the  date  of  the  offer  and  at  the  date  of  the  special  election, 
and  shall  be  divided  into  items  corresponding  so  far  as 
practicable  with  the  various  purposes  specified  in  section 
nine  of  article  VII. 


154  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

Addition  to  If  the  value  of  the  property  at  the  date  of  the  election 
tion  from  exceeds  the  sum  named  in  the  offer  as  the  price  the  owner 
the  apprai-  would  take,  an  amount  equal  to  five  per  cent  of  said  sum 
^  shall  be  added  to  the  award;  and  if  the  said  value  is  less 

than  the  sum  named  in  the  offer  an  amoimt  equal  to  five 
per  cent  of  said  sum  shall  be  deducted  from  the  award. 
Interest  Interest  on  the  award,  thus  increased  or  diminished  as 

the  case  may  be,  from  the  date  of  the  special  election  shall 
be  paid  by  the  city  to  the  owner  or  his  legal  representatives. 
If  no  offer         In  case  the  owner  makes  no  offer  as  hereinbefore  pro- 
s  ma  e        yided  within  six  months  after  the  approval  of  the  said  first 
vote  of  the  city  council  he  shall  continue  in  possession  of 
the  property  and  franchises  then  belonging  to  him,  subject 
to  all  laws  then  or  thereafter  in  force  affecting  the  same; 
and  the  city  shall  be  under  no  obligation  to  acquire  the 
same  or  any  part  thereof,  but  after  an  affirmative  vote  at 
the  said  special  election  may  proceed  to  establish  a  plant 
as  provided  in  section  three  of  this  article. 
Mortgages,       All  property  transferred  to  the  city  as  aforesaid  shall 
^  ^'  vest  in  the  city  free  and  discharged  of  all  mortgages  and 

liens;  but  all  creditors  of  the  owner,  whether  secured  by 
mortgage  or  not,  shall  be  entitled  to  become  parties  to  the 
court  proceedings,  if  any,  to  determine  the  value  of  the 
property,  and  the  commissioners  shall  determine  in  accord- 
ance with  the  ordinary  rules  of  law  to  whom  the  award 
shall  be  paid.  In  case  there  are  no  court  proceedings  to 
determine  the  value  of  the  property  and  there  are  any 
mortgages  of  record  on  any  part  of  the  property  at  the 
time  of  the  special  election,  the  purchase  money  shall  be 
paid  to  the  mortgagees  to  the  amount  necessary  to  extin- 
guish their  liens  if  such  amount  is  less  than  the  purchase 
money.  If  the  amount  of  said  mortgages  exceeds  the  pur- 
chase price  the  money  shall  be  paid  to  the  mortgagees  in 
order  of  priority. 
Decision  The  decision  of  the  commissioners  shall  be  final  on  all 

facts  °9^  questions  as  to  the  property  to  be  included  in  the  transfer 
and  award  and  on  all  questions  of  value;  but  they  shall 
report  to  the  court  their  award,  together  with  their  rulings 
on  all  questions  of  law,  including  the  basis  of  valuation 
adopted,  that  may  be  raised  by  any  party  to  the  case.    The 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  ISS 

court  shall  affirm  the  award  unless  of  the  opinion  that  some 
error  of  law  has  been  committed  by  the  commissioners  to 
the  substantial  injury  of  any  party,  in  which  case  the  court 
shall  remand  the  cause  to  the  commissioners  for  further 
consideration  in  accordance  with  the  opinion  of  the  court. 

Section  5.     The  commissioner  of  property  shall  keep  Manage- 
accurate  accounts  of  the  first  cost  of  the  property  in  his  municipal 
charge  and  of  all  extensions  and  enlargements  thereof,  works 
divided  as  accurately  as  is  practicable  between  the  different 
divisions  of  the  department,  and  the  aggregate  cost  of  the  Cost  of 
property,   including   such   extensions   and   enlargements, 
acquired  for  the  water,  gas  and  electric  divisions  respec- 
tively prior  to  the  first  day  of  January  in  each  year  shall 
constitute  the  cost  of  the  respective  works  upon  which 
taxes  and  depreciation  shall  be  reckoned  for  that  year  as 
hereinafter  provided. 

The  depreciation  of  the  works  shall  be  made  good  by  the  Deprecia- 
payment  annually  by  the  commissioner  to  the  construction  **^ 
fund  hereinafter  referred  to  of  a  certain  percentage  of  the 
cost  of  the  works  as  hereinbefore  defined,  namely,  two  per 
cent  for  the  water  works,  three  per  cent  for  the  gas  works, 
and  five  per  cent  for  the  electric  works,  which  amounts 
shall  be  charged  to  the  annual  expense  of  the  respective 
divisions. 

The  commissioner  shall  pay  annually  in  the  month  of  Taxes  ^i 
October  to  the  city  treasurer  a  tax  at  the  same  rate  as  that 
levied  on  the  property  of  the  citizens  upon  the  difference 
between  the  cost  of  the  property  belonging  to  the  water, 
gas  and  electric  divisions  of  the  municipal  property  depart- 
ment respectively  ascertained  in  the  manner  hereinabove 
provided  and  the  aggregate  payments  for  depreciation  on 
the  property  of  the  respective  divisions  as  hereinbefore 
provided,  and  said  tax  shall  be  charged  to  the  annual  ex- 
pense of  the  respective  divisions. 

Adequate  insurance  against  fire  and  liability  for  injuries  Insurance  ^ 
to  person  or  property,  including  liabiUty  under  any  law  for 
workmen's  compensation  applicable  to  the  city,  shall  be 
carried  by  the  commissioner  in  the  name  of  the  city,  and 
all  sums  paid  for  premiums,  damages,  or  compensation  in 


IS6 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Payments 
by  other 
depart- 
ments ^ 


Total 

annual 

expense 


Annual 
estimates 


any  year  shall  be  charged  to  the  annual  expense  of  the  re- 
spective divisions. 

Each  department  or  division  of  the  city  government 
using  water,  gas  or  electricity  furnished  by  the  municipal 
property  department  shall  pay  out  of  its  annual  appropria- 
tion for  current  expenses  the  same  rates  as  private  indi- 
viduals pay,  except  that  the  fire  division  of  the  department 
of  public  safety  shall  pay  for  the  water  used  in  extinguish- 
ing fires  and  on  account  of  the  extra  cost  of  the  works  due 
to  the  fire  service  a  sum  equal  to ,  and  that  the  depart- 
ment of  public  works  shall  pay  for  the  gas  and  electricity 
used  for  Hghting  the  streets,  parks,  playgrounds  and  pub- 
lic places  such  sum  per  annum  as  fairly  represents  the 
commercial  value  of  the  service  as  determined  by  the  mayor 
and  city  council  in  the  annual  budget.^  The  said  charges 
to  the  several  departments  for  the  use  of  water,  gas  or 
electricity  shall  be  paid  by  the  said  departments  respec- 
tively to  the  municipal  property  department  monthly  upon 
bills  rendered  by  the  commissioner  of  property;  the  annual 
charges  for  fire  service  and  public  lighting  as  above  set  out 
shall  be  paid  in  equal  monthly  installments;  and  the  said 
amounts  shall  be  credited  to  the  annual  income  of  the  re- 
spective divisions  of  the  municipal  property  department. 

The  entire  annual  cost  of  maintaining,  repairing  and 
operating  the  works,  including  all  current  repairs,  renewals 
of  current  or  annually  recurrent  necessity,  rents,  taxes,  in- 
surance and  depreciation,  and  the  annual  payments  for 
interest,^^  sinking  fund  and  debt  requirements,  shall  be 
charged  to  the  annual  expense  of  the  respective  divisions 
of  the  municipal  property  department.  If  any  money  is 
paid  to  any  person,  or  to  any  corporation  public  or  private, 
or  to  any  pubUc  authority,  for  water,  gas  or  electricity  or 
for  the  conveyance  thereof,  the  amounts  thus  paid  shall  be 
charged  to  the  annual  expense  of  the  respective  divisions.^ 

On  or  before  the  fifteenth  day  of  December  in  each  year 
the  commissioner  shall  submit  to  the  city  auditor  a  detailed 
estimate  of  the  income  and  expense  during  the  ensuing  year 
of  the  several  divisions  of  his  department,  and  shall  specify 
the  amounts  which  he  desires  to  have  appropriated  from 
the  tax  levy  for  any  of  said  divisions. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  157 

The  revenues  of  the  several  divisions  of  the  department 
shall  be  applicable  to  the  expenses  of  the  respective  divi- 
sions without  appropriation  or  vote  by  the  mayor  and  city 
council.^^ 

Section  6.  The  annual  payments  for  depreciation  and  The  con- 
the  surplus  revenue  of  the  water,  gas  or  electric  divisions  f^^^  ss 
of  the  department,  meaning  the  excess,  if  any,  of  the  re- 
ceipts from  rates  and  other  departments  over  the  annual 
expense  as  hereinbefore  defined  shall  at  the  close  of  each 
year  be  paid  by  the  city  treasurer  into  a  separate  fund  to  be 
called  the  construction  fund,  which  fund  shall  be  divided 
and  kept  separately  for  each  of  said  divisions.  All  sums 
received  from  insurance  companies  for  the  loss  of  property 
and  the  proceeds  of  all  sales  of  property  belonging  to  any 
division  shall  be  paid  into  this  fund. 

The  money  belonging  to  said  fund  shall,  until  drawn  on 
by  the  commissioner  of  property  as  hereinafter  provided, 
be  deposited  or  invested  in  the  manner  provided  in 
section  thirteen  of  article  VII  respecting  moneys  in  the 
sinking  funds;  and  the  interest  or  dividends  on  said  de- 
posits and  investments  shall  be  added  to  the  principal 
of  the  fund. 

The  commissioner  shall  have  the  use  of  this  fund  to  de- 
fray the  cost  of  replacing  such  parts  of  the  property  in  his 
charge  as  have  become  worn  out  or  otherwise  inefl&cient, 
and  the  cost  of  replacing  which  is  too  great  to  be  properly 
chargeable  as  maintenance,  repairs  or  renewals  to  annual 
expense,  and  to  defray  the  cost  of  such  purchases,  exten- 
sions and  enlargements  as  might  otherwise  under  the  pro- 
vision of  this  act  be  met  by  loan.  No  part  of  the  fund 
shall,  directly  or  indirectly,  be  used  for  any  payment 
chargeable  under  section  five  of  this  article  to  annual 
expense. 

Section  7.  The  commissioner  shall  fix  the  rates  charged  Rates  to 
to  private  customers  for  the  water,  gas  and  electricity  fur-  {omers »» 
nished  them  by  the  department,  which  rates  shall,  with 
the  contributions  from  the  other  departments  provided  in 
section  five  of  this  article  be  sufficient,  for  each  division, 
to  cover  the  entire  annual  expense  of  said  respective  divi- 
sions as  defined  in  said  section. 


IS8  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

Jurisdic-  Section  8.     The  state  board  shall  have  jurisdiction,  of 

stete'board  ^^^  ^^^  initiation  ^^  or  upon  petition  of  the  mayor  or  of  the 
city  council  or  of  ten  taxable  inhabitants  of  the  city,  or  of 
any  holder  of  any  debt  amounting  to  one  thousand  dollars 
or  more  which  has  been  issued  in  connection  with  the  opera- 
tions of  this  department,  to  examine  the  operations  and 
accounts  of  the  department  and  to  readjust  the  rates  fixed 
by  the  commissioner  for  any  division  if  in  the  opinion  of 
the  board  such  rates  are  insufficient  with  the  aforesaid 
contributions  by  other  departments  to  cover  the  annual 
expense  of  the  division  as  hereinbefore  defined.  ^^ 

The  board  shall  also  have  jurisdiction  of  its  own  initia- 
tion or  upon  petition  as  aforesaid  to  review  any  appropria- 
tion made  by  the  mayor  and  city  council  as  provided  in 
section  five  of  this  article  for  the  lighting  of  the  streets, 
parks,  playgrounds  and  public  places,  and  if  it  finds  that 
the  appropriation  is  less  than  the  fair  commercial  value  of 
the  service  it  shall  so  report  to  the  mayor  and  the  board  of 
assessors  and  shall  state  the  amount  which  in  its  judgment 
should  have  been  appropriated.  This  amount  shall  be 
included  by  the  board  of  assessors  in  the  tax  levy  for  the 
year  if  the  same  has  not  been  declared;  and  if  the  tax  levy 
has  been  declared  the  excess  of  the  said  amount  over  the 
sum  appropriated  shall  either  be  taken  from  the  reserve 
fund,  if  sufficient,  or  included  in  the  tax  levy  for  the  next 
year. 

The  board  shall  also  have  jurisdiction,  of  its  own  initia- 
tion or  upon  petition  as  aforesaid,  to  examine  the  use  made 
of  the  construction  fund,  and  if  it  finds  that  any  part  of  the 
same  has  been  used  for  purposes  not  authorized  by  the 
provisions  of  section  six  of  this  article  to  readjust  the  rates 
fixed  by  the  commissioner  so  that  the  impairment  of  the 
fund  shall  be  made  good  from  the  revenues  of  the  depart- 
ment during  such  period,  not  exceeding  three  years,  as  the 
board  shall  determine. 

Accounts  ^  Section  9.  The  accounts  of  the  financial  operations  of 
each  division  of  the  municipal  department  shall  so  far  as 
practicable  be  kept  separately  for  each  division. 

The  current  accounts  of  the  department  shall  be  kept 
and  the  annual  report  shall  be  made  in  such  manner  as  to 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  IS9 

show,  for  each  division  and  in  such  detail  as  the  city  auditor 
may  require,  the  receipts  during  the  year  from  the  different 
classes  of  private  customers,  from  each  department  of  the 
city  government,  and  from  miscellaneous  sources;  the  pay- 
ments during  the  year  for  annual  expense  including  in 
separate  items  all  payments  for  maintenance  and  repairs, 
for  interest,  sinking  funds,  debt,  taxes  and  depreciation, 
the  resulting  surplus  income,  if  any,  and  the  disposition  of 
it;  the  expenditures  for  construction  during  the  year;  the 
amount  of  money  borrowed  during  the  year  and  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  has  been  or  is  to  be  used;  the  payments 
to  and  out  of  the  construction  fimd  during  the  year;  the 
outstanding  obligations  at  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year,  with 
the  amount  of  money  on  hand  to  meet  them;  the  popula- 
tion supplied,  the  number  of  customers  of  each  class,  the 
total  and  average  daily  consumption,  the  consumption 
per  capita  of  the  population  and  per  consumer,  the  income 
and  expense  per  capita  and  per  unit  of  output,  and  such 
other  data  as  may  be  prescribed  by  ordinance. 

The  commissioner  shall  also  keep  and  include  in  the 
annual  report  a  separate  account  showing  for  each  divi- 
sion and  in  such  detail  as  the  city  auditor  may  require,  the 
total  construction  cost  of  the  works  to  date,  the  sources 
from  which  the  money  was  procured,  the  total  amount  of 
money  borrowed  to  date,  the  outstanding  gross  and  net 
debt,  the  liabilities  for  construction,  the  aggregate  pay- 
ments to  and  from  the  construction  fund,  the  aggregate 
depreciation  charges  and  such  other  data  as  may  be  pre- 
scribed by  ordinance. 

Section  io.     If  at  the  passage  of  this  act  or  hereafter  Acquistion 
the  city  is  authorized  by  law  to  acquire  or  operate  markets,  ™i^S"of 
ferries,  docks,  wharves,  subways,  and  other  enterprises  of  other  busi- 
similar  nature,  the  same  shall,  so  far  as  practicable,  be  prfUs^^  *'" 
managed  and  operated  and  their  accounts  shall  be  kept 
in  the  manner  provided  in  this  article  for  water,  gas  and 
electric  works.^^ 

Section  ii.     All  water  works,  gas  works,  electric  works,  Proprietary 
markets,  ferries,  subways  and  other  similar  property  at  the^city^»*^ 
any  time  belonging  to  the  city  and  the  rents  and  profits 


l6o  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

thereof  and  all  real  estate  not  used  or  held  for  some  partic- 
ular department  shall  be  held  and  owned  by  the  city  in 
its  private  or  proprietary  capacity,  and  the  legislature 
shall  not  appropriate  the  same  or  the  rents  and  profits 
thereof  or  reduce  the  said  rents  and  profits  without  the 
consent  of  the  mayor  and  city  council  or  the  payment  of 
just  compensation  as  provided  by  general  law  when  private 
property  is  taken  for  public  uses. 

Trust  funds  Section  12.  All  property  devised,  bequeathed  or  given 
to  the  city  upon  trust  shall  be  in  charge  of  the  commissioner 
of  property.  He  shall  have  charge  of  the  management, 
care,  repair  and  leasing  of  such  property  if  real  estate,  of 
the  collection  of  rents  and  of  the  collection  of  dividends 
and  interest  upon  so  much  of  such  property  as  consists  of 
stock,  bonds,  mortgages  or  similar  investments;  and  shall 
apply  the  net  income  of  the  several  funds  to  the  purposes 
required  by  the  terms  of  the  respective  trusts. 

Property,  which  by  the  terms  of  the  trust  imder  which 
it  is  held  may  be  sold,  shall  be  disposed  of  by  the  commis- 
sioner only  by  authority  of  the  mayor  and  city  council. 

Moneys  belonging  at  any  time  to  any  trust  fund  as 
capital  shall  be  deposited  or  invested  by  the  conmiissioner 
with  the  approval  in  writing  of  the  mayor  and  city  treas- 
urer in  the  manner  provided  in  section  thirteen  of  article 
VII  respecting  moneys  in  the  sinking  fimds.^^ 

Article  XI.     Enforcement 

Penalties »«  Section  i.  Any  person  violating  the  provisions  of  the 
last  paragraph  of  section  five  of  article  IV,  or  the  provisions 
of  the  second  and  fourth  sections  of  article  VII,  or  the  pro- 
visions of  the  last  paragraph  of  the  third  section  of  article 
VII  shall  be  pimished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  two 
hundred  dollars.  Any  person  violating  the  provisions  of 
article  VIII  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than 
one  thousand  dollars  or  by  imprisonment  for  not  more  than 
one  year,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment. 

Petitions »'  Section  2.  The  court  shall  have  jurisdiction  upon  peti- 
tion of  the  mayor,  of  the  city  council,  of  ten  taxable  in- 
habitants of  the  city  or  of  any  creditor  of  the  city  to  the 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  l6l 

amount  of  one  thousand  dollars  or  more,  to  restrain  the  Unlawful 
expenditure  by  any  officer,  division  head,  board  or  em-  expendi-^' 
ployee  of  the  city  of  any  money  for  any  purpose  not  author-  ttires 
ized  by  this  act  or  by  the  laws  applicable  to  the  city  as 
herein  modified;  to  restrain  the  doing  of  any  work  or  the 
making  of  any  contract  or  obligation  purporting  to  bind 
the  city,  not  authorized  by  this  act  or  by  said  laws;   to 
compel  the  officers,  division  heads,  boards  and  employees 
of  the  city  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  this  act  and 
of  said  laws;  and  in  general  to  enforce  by  mandamus,  in- 
junction or  other  appropriate  remedy  the  provisions  of  this 
act  and  of  said  laws. 

The  court  shall  have  jurisdiction  upon  petition  as  afore-  Voidable 
said  to  declare  void  any  contract,  lease  or  order  for  work  ^^^  *^  ^ 
or  materials  made  on  behalf  of  the  city  which  under  the 
provisions  of  article  VIII  is  voidable,  and  to  decree  the  re- 
payment by  the  contractor,  lessor  or  vendor  of  all  moneys 
theretofore  paid  by  the  city  upon  the  contract  or  order; 
provided  said  petition  is  brought  within  one  year  after  the 
making  of  the  contract  or  the  giving  of  the  order  or  the 
payment  of  any  money  thereunder. 

Petitions  by  the  mayor  under  this  section  shall  be  Procedure 
brought  in  the  name  of  the  city.  Petitions  brought  by 
the  city  council  or  by  taxpayers  or  creditors  shall  be 
brought  against  the  city  and  the  officer,  board  or  employee 
charged  with  having  violated  or  intending  to  violate  the 
provisions  of  this  act.  To  any  petition  to  avoid  a  contract 
or  order,  the  contractor  or  vendor  shall  be  made  a  party 
defendant.  To  any  petition  to  avoid  a  contract  or  order 
under  section  three  of  article  VIII  the  official  implicated 
shall  be  made  a  party  defendant.  The  court  may  in  any 
case  make  such  order  as  it  deems  meet  respecting  the  ad- 
mission of  other  parties. 

Section  3.     Upon  petition  to  the  governor  [and  council]*  Special 
by  the  mayor,  by  the  city  council  or  by  five  hundred  tax-  tSns  ^^^" 
able  inhabitants  of  the  city  alleging  that  there  is  need  of  an 
impartial  investigation  of  the  finances  and  administration 

*  For  use  in  Massachusetts,  where  the  executive  council  is  commonly  charged 
with  the  power  of  confirming  appointments. 


1 62 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


of  the  city,  the  governor  may  [with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  council]*  appoint  a  commission  of  three  disinterested 
persons,  who  may  or  may  not  be  residents  of  the  city,  to 
investigate  its  finances  and  administration. 

Such  commission  shall  hold  ofl5.ce  for  such  time  as  the 
governor  may  specify  in  appointing  the  same  or  for  such 
longer  period  as  the  governor  [and  council]*  may  from  time 
to  time  decide;  may  receive  such  compensation  and  may 
spend  such  sums  for  ofl&ces,  clerks,  accountants,  experts, 
counsel  and  other  employees  or  assistants  as  the  governor 
[and  council]*  may  from  time  to  time  approve.  All  such 
expenditures  shall  in  the  first  instance  be  paid  by  the  state 
which  shall  be  reimbursed  by  the  city  upon  demand. 

The  commission  thus  appointed  shall  investigate  the 
finances  and  administration  of  the  city,  and  shall  report 
its  findings  and  conclusions,  with  such  recommendations 
for  legislative  or  administrative  reforms  as  it  may  deem 
wise,  to  the  legislature  and  to  the  mayor  and  city  council. 
It  may  report  in  part  and  from  time  to  time. 

Process  For  the  purpose  of  enabling  such  commission  to  perform 

its  duties,  and  to  secure  for  the  city  and  the  legislature  in- 
formation concerning  the  finances  and  administration  of 
the  city,  as  a  basis  for  such  laws,  ordinances  and  adminis- 
trative orders  as  may  be  deemed  meet,  the  commission 
shall  have  power  to  require  the  attendance  and  testimony 
of  witnesses  and  the  production  of  books,  papers,  contracts 
and  documents  relating  to  any  matter  within  the  scope  of 
the  said  investigation.  Such  witnesses  shall  be  summoned 
in  the  same  manner  and  be  paid  the  same  fees  as  witnesses 
before  the  municipal  courts  of  the  city.  Each  of  such  wit- 
nesses may  be  represented  by  counsel  who  may  examine  the 
witness  for  whom  he  appears  for  not  more  than  ten  minutes 
during  his  examination.  The  chairman  or  any  member  of 
the  commission  may  administer  oaths  to  or  take  the  aflSirma- 
.  tion  of  witnesses  who  appear  before  the  commission.  The 
commission  may  prescribe  reasonable  rules  and  regulations 
for  the  conduct  of  hearings  and  the  giving  of  testimony. 

Contempt       If  any  person  so  summoned  and  paid  shall  refuse  to 
attend,  or  to  be  sworn,  or  to  afl&rm,  or  to  answer  any  ques- 

*  For  use  in  Massachusetts. 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 63 

tion,  or  to  produce  any  book,  contract,  document  or  paper, 
pertinent  to  the  matter  of  inquiry  in  consideration  before 
the  commission,  a  justice  of  the  court,  in  his  discretion, 
upon  application  by  the  commission  or  any  member  thereof 
authorized  thereto  by  vote  of  said  commission,  may  issue 
an  order  requiring  such  person  to  appear  before  the  com- 
mission, and  to  produce  his  books,  contracts,  documents 
and  papers  and  to  give  evidence  touching  the  matter  in 
question.  Any  failure  to  obey  such  order  of  the  court  may 
be  punished  by  the  court  as  a  contempt  thereof.  Any  per- 
son so  summoned  and  paid  who  shall  refuse  to  attend,  or  to 
be  sworn,  or  to  affirm,  or  to  answer  any  question,  or  to 
produce  any  book,  contract,  document  or  paper,  pertinent 
to  the  matter  in  consideration  by  the  commission,  and  any 
person  who  willfully  interrupts  or  disturbs,  or  is  disorderly, 
at  any  hearing  of  the  commission  shall  be  punished  by  a 
fine  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  for  not 
more  than  thirty  days,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprison- 
ment. 

Any  person  who  willfully  swears  or  affirms  falsely  before  Penalty 
the  commission  upon  any  point  material  to  the  matter  of 
inquiry  shall  be  guilty  of  perjury,  and  shall  be  subject  to 
the  provisions  of  law  respecting  that  crime. 

Upon  application  by  the  commission  to  any  justice  of  Witnesses 
the  court  the  said  justice  may  issue  a  commission  to  one  or  stotes^^ 
more  competent  persons  in  another  state  for  the  examina- 
tion of  a  person  without  this  commonwealth  relative  to 
any  matter  within  the  scope  of  said  investigation.  [The 
testimony  of  such  person  may  be  taken  by  open  commis- 
sion, or  otherwise  under  the  procedure,  so  far  as  the  same 
may  be  applicable,  provided  by  section  forty-three  of  chap- 
ter 175  of  the  Revised  Laws,  and  the  said  justice  may  issue 
letters  rogatory  in  support  of  said  commission]  *. 

Nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  compel  any  Self-in- 

.       '  .2.'  ^1  •  1  crimination 

person  to  give  any  testimony  or  to  produce  any  evidence, 

documentary  or  otherwise,  which  may  tend  to  incriminate 

him. 

Article  XII.     Enactment 

This  act  shall  take  effect  upon  its  passage. 

*  For  use  in  Massachusetts. 


164  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

B.     COMMISSION  TYPE 

The  text  of  the  charter  draft  for  the  "responsible  executive"  type 
may  be  used  for  the  "  commission  "  type  by  making  the  corrections 
noted  below. 

Table  of  Contents 
Article  III.  Omit  section  4. 
Article  IV.    Change  title  to  "  The  Board  of  Directors." 

Combine  sections  4  and  5,  and  correct  to  "  Powers  of  the 
Board  of  Directors." 
Article  IX.   Add  "  and  Divisions  "  in  the  title. 
Rearrange  as  follows: 

1.  In  general 

2.  Public  affairs  department 

3.  Law  division 

4.  Election  division 

5.  Public  library  division 

6.  Public  safety  department 

7.  Penal  institutions  division 

8.  Public  charities  division 

9.  Public  works  department 

10.  Treasury  division 

11.  Accounting  division 

12.  Recording  division 

13.  Assessing  division 

14.  Licensing  division 

TEXT   OF   CHARTER 

Article  I.   General  Provisions. 

Section  i.     If  4,  The  phrase  "  board  of  directors  "  shall  mean  the 

mayor  and  directors  of  the  city  of ,  etc. 

Change  margin  title  to  "  Board  of  directors." 

T[  7,  lines  2  and  4,  "board  of  directors"  for  " mayor 

and  city  council." 

Section  3.     If  i,  line  3,  "board  of  directors"  for  " city  council." 

If  2,  lines  2-3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 

city  council,"  and  "  city  council." 

line  II,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor,  city 

council." 
line  12,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 


CHARTER  DRAFTS 


i6s 


Article  II.     Nominations  and  Elections. 

Section  i.     ^  i,  line  i,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  *'  city  council." 

Section  2.     1[  i,  line  3,  "  four  members  of  the  board  of  directors  " 

for  "  seven  members  of  the  city  coun- 
cil." 
line  6,  Omit  all  from  the  date  to  the  end  of 
the  sentence  and  substitute:  **  and  the 
two  candidates  for  the  board  of  direc- 
tors receiving  the  highest  number  of 
votes  shall  hold  office  for  two  years,  the 
two  receiving  the  next  highest  number 
of  votes  shall  hold  office  for  one  year." 
1[  2,  line  4,  Omit  three  lines  and  substitute:  "  and 
two  members  of  the  board  of  directors 
for  three-year  terms." 

Section  3.     1[  i,  lines  2,  5,  8  and  10,  "  board  of  directors  "  for 

"  city  council." 
If  2,  line  5,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  coun- 
cil." 
^  3,  lines  7  and  8,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city 
council." 

Section  4.     1[  i,  line  i,  "  board  of  directors  "  for    "  city  coun- 
cil." 

Section  7.     Ballot  form.     "  board   of   directors  "  for  "  city 

COUNCIL."     Omit  "  (or  three)  ". 
Article  III.     The  Mayor. 

Section  3.     If  2,  Omit  this  whole  paragraph  and  substitute: 

"  The  mayor  shall  preside  and  may  vote 
at  all  the  meetings  of  the  board  of  di- 
rectors and  may  attend  the  meetings  of 
and  address  the  school  committee  upon 
such  subject  as  he  may  desire,  but  shall 
have  no  vote  in  that  body." 

Section  4.     Omit  all  of  this  section. 

Section  5.     ^  i,  lines  2-3,  "acting-chairmanof  the  board  of  direc- 
tors "  for  "  city  solicitor." 
line  6,  Omit  last  sentence. 

Section  6.     If  i,  line  2,  Omit  after  "  mayor  "  to  and  including 

"  council  "  and  substitute  "  the  acting- 
chairman  of  the  board  of  directors." 


i66 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


lines  14-16,  Omit  "  the  power  .  .  .  city  council." 
lines  18-20,  Omit  "  and  he  is  .  .  .  city  council." 
Article  IV.     Change  title  to  "  The  Board  of  Directors." 

Section  i.     Hi,  line  i,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
lines  1-2,  "  five     including    the    mayor  "    for 

"  seven." 
lines  3-4,  Insert:  "  They  shall  receive  a  compen- 
sation of  thousand  dollars  per 

annum." 
Section  2.     T[  i,  line  i,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
If  2,  line  2,"  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 

lines  2-5,  Omit  "  member  ...  as  chairman,"  and 
substitute  "  mayor  who  shall  preside  at 
its  meetings.     The  board  of  directors 
shall,  by  vote  of  a  majority  of  all  mem- 
bers, choose  by  ballot  one  of  their  mem- 
bers as  acting-chairman  to  preside  in 
the  absence  of  the  mayor." 
line  5,  Insert  "  acting-  "  before  "  chairman." 
line  10,  Change  "  five  "  to  "  three." 
line  10,  "board  of  directors"  for  "  city  council." 
line  II,  Insert  after  "of,"  "  both  the  mayor  and 

acting-  ". 
line  13,  Insert  "  acting-  "  before  "  chairman." 
Section  3.     H  i,  line  i,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 

Une  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
If  2,  line  I,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 

line  3,  Substitute    "  week  "    for    "  thirty  -  one 
days." 
If  3,  line  2,  "  two  "  for  "  three." 

line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 
If  5,  Une  I,  "  three  "  for  "  four." 

line  2,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 
H  6,  line  i,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 
Sections  4  and  5  are  to  be  combined. 

Margin  title  will  be:   Powers  of  the  board  of  direc- 
tors. 
The  following  two  paragraphs  are  to  be  inserted: 

"  Section  4.     The  board  of  directors  shall 
have  control  and  supervision  over  all 


CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 67 

the  departments  of  said  city,  and  to 
that  end  shall  have  power  to  make  and 
enforce  such  rules  and  regulations  as 
they  may  see  fit  and  proper  for  and  con- 
cerning the  organization,  management 
and  operation  of  all  of  the  departments 
of  said  city  and  whatever  agencies  may 
be  created  for  the  administration  of  its 
affairs. 
"  They  shall,  by  a  majority  vote  of  all 
said  directors,  designate  from  among 
their  number  a  director  for  each  depart- 
ment provided  in  section  one  of  article 
VI,  which  director  shall  have  super- 
vision of  said  designated  department. '^ 
^  I,  line  I,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 

Hues  2-3,  Omit  **  action  by  .  .  .  and  to,". 

line  9,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 

lines  29-30,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor 
and  city  council." 
1[  2,  line  I,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 

lines  1-3,  Omit  "  subject  to  .  .  .  to,". 
If  3,  line  13,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  or 
council." 

line  14,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 

line  16,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 

line  18,  "  board  of  directors"  for  "mayor  or  city 
council." 

line  23,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
Section  5.     Title  in  margin  to  be  omitted. 

Becomes  paragraphs  6,  7,  and  8  of  Section  4. 
If  I,  line  I,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 

lines  1-2,  Omit  "  without  ...  Ill  but,". 

lines  4-5,  Omit  "  the  city  clerk  and  ". 

Ime  5,  Omit  "  other." 

line  8,  "  any  director  "  for  "  the  mayor." 

Une  13,  "  city  solicitor  "  for  "  mayor." 

line  18,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 


i68 


MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 


Article  V. 
Section 
Section 


5- 


Section  6. 

Article  VI. 
Section 


line  30,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  coun- 
cil." 
lines  30-31,  Omit  "  as  .  .  .  council." 
T[  2,  line  I,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
H  3,  line  2,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
Section  6.     \ij  lines  2  and  5,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  coun- 
cil." 
1[  2,  lines  2  and  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  coun- 
cil." 
The  School  Committee. 
3.     H  7,  line  5,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 

K  I,  lines  3-4,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 

city  council." 
1[  2,  line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 

city  council." 
K  3,  line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  coxmcil." 
1[  I,  line  5,  "  board    of    directors  "    for    "  office    of 
mayor." 
Organization  of  the  Executive  Departments. 
I.     ^  I,  Substitute  table  (see  page  169). 

K  3,  line  1$,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
If  6,  line  2,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  *'  mayor." 
Section  2.     1[  i,  line  2,  Insert  "  and  "  before  "of." 

lines  2-3,  Omit  "  and  of  the  .  .  .  property." 
Section  3.     If  i,  Omit  whole  paragraph  and  substitute: 

"  The  mayor's  secretary  and  the  other 
employees  of  his  office,  the  city  solici- 
tor, the  trustees  of  the  public  library, 
and  the  election  commissioners  shall  be 
appointed  by  the  mayor  by  means  of  a 
certificate  signed  by  him  and  filed  with 
the  city  clerk.  The  city  clerk  shall  be 
elected  by  a  vote  of  the  board  of  direc- 
tors. The  trustees  of  the  charities  and 
poor  relief  division  shall  be  appointed 
by  the  director  of  pubUc  safety." 
If  2,  line  2,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
If  4,  Une  4,  "  a  director  "  for  "  the  mayor." 

line  6,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 
line  15,  "  proper  director  "  for  "  mayor." 


CHARTER  DRAFTS 


169 


Officers  and  Boards  in  charge  of 

Departments  and  Divisions 

Departments  and  Divisions 

Public  Affairs  Department 

Mayor  —  Director  of  Public  Affairs 

Mayor's  Office 

Mayor's  Secretary 

Law  Division 

City  Solicitor 

Elections  Division 

Board  of  Three  Commissioners 

Public  Library  Division 

Board  of  Three  Trustees 

Publicity  Division 

Publicity  Agent 

Public  Safety  Department 

Director  of  Public  Safety 

Building  Division 

Superintendent  of  Buildings 

Health  Division 

City  Physician 

Fire  Division 

Fire  Chief 

Police  Division 

Chief  of  Police 

Penal  Institutions  Division 

Superintendent  of  Penal  Institutions 

Charities  and  Poor  Relief  Division 

Board  of  Three  Trustees 

Weights  and  Measures  Division 

Sealer  of  Weights  and  Measures 

Insanity  Division 

Superintendent  of  the  Insane 

Public  Works  Department 

Director  of  Public  Works 

Engineering  Division 

City  Engineer 

Streets  and  Sewers  Division 

Superintendent  of  Streets  and  Sewers 

Parks  and  Playgrounds  Division 

Superintendent  of  Parks  and  Play- 

grounds 

Cemetery  Division 

Superintendent  of  Cemeteries 

Municipal  Property  Department 

Director  of  Property 

Water  Division 

Manager  of  Water  Works 

Gas  Division 

Manager  of  Gas 

Electric  Division 

and  Electric  Works 

Miscellaneous  Property  Division 

Property  Agent 

Finance  Department 

Director  of  Finance 

Treasury  Division 

City  Treasurer 

Accounts  and  Purchasing  Division 

City  Auditor 

Recording  Division 

City  Clerk 

Assessing  Division 

Board  of  Three  Assessors 

Licensing  Division 

Board  of  Three  Commissioners 

^  6,  lines  2  and  5,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city 
council." 
line  II,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 
Section  4.     ^  2,  line  3,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
Section  5.     If  2,  line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 


lyo  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

Article  VII.     Appropriations,  Taxes  and  Loans. 

Section  2.     1[  i,  line  8,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  **  mayor  and  to 

the  city  council." 
line  15,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
Section  3.     ^  i,  line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 

line  3,  Omit  *'  who  "  and  substitute  "  and  each 

director." 
line  6,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
lines  7  and  20,  Omit  **  the  city  "  and  substitute 

**  his  department." 
lines  24-25,   "  board  of  directors  "    for   "  city 

council." 
lines  26-29,    Omit    "  but    without   .   .   .  item 

thereto." 
line  30,  '*  board  of  directors  "  for  "  council." 
Unes  31-34,  Omit  "  as  also  all  .  .  .  "  to  end  of 
paragraph. 
1[  4,  Omit  this  paragraph. 
Section  4.     ^  i,  line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  f or  "  mayor." 

line  12,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  or  city 
council." 
Section  5.     II  i,  Une  4,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  **  city  council." 
lines  5-6,  Omit  "  subject  to  .  .  .  III,". 
If  2,  Une  2,  Omit  "  with  the  approval  of  the  mayor." 
\  3,  line  7,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
Section  6.     1[  i,  lines  7-8,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "mayor  and 

city  council." 
If  2,  lines   13    and    14,    "  board    of   directors "   for 
"  mayor  and  city  council." 
Section  10.     If  i,  line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 

lines  7-8,  Omit  "  nor  unless  .  .  .  III." 
Section  13.     If  4,  lines  5  and  9, ''  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 
Article  VIII.     General  Rules  for  the  Conduct  of  Business. 

Section  i.     ^2,  lines  5  and  9,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  '*  mayor." 
^  3,  line  6,  '*  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 
If  4,  line  9,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
Tf  5,  line  6,  *'  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
lines  7-8,  Omit  "  and  with  .  .  .  mayor." 


CHARTER  DRAFTS 


171 


line  18,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 
lines  19-21,  Omit  "in  which  case  .  .  .  comicil." 
Section  3.     ^  i,  Unes  2  and  7,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city 

council." 
line  10,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
Section  7.     If  i,  line  4,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
^  2,  line  6,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
Section  8.     If  i,  line  8,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
If  2,  line  4,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
Article  IX.     Duties  of  Particular  Departments  and  Divisions. 

Rearrange  departments  and  divisions  as  provided  in  Table  of 

Contents,  supra,  page  164. 
Section  2.     Add  the  following  before  the  present  paragraph: 

"  The  mayor  shall  be  the  director  of  the 
department  of  public  affairs  and  shall 
have  supervision  over  the  divisions  pro- 
vided for  in  section  one  of  article  VI." 
Add  margin  title:  Public  affairs  depart- 
ment.' 
^  I,  Change  margin  title  to  sub- title  "  Law  division  " 
for  "  Law  department." 
line  8,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
Section  3.     If  i,  line  i,  "  director  "  f or  "  commissioner." 

Tf  2,  lines  3, 4  and  7,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
If  4,  line  I,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
Section  4.     If  i,  line  i,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 

^  3,  line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
lines  3  and  4,  "  director  "  f or  "  commissioner." 
line  II,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  coun- 
cil." 
Section  5.     Margin  title:  "  division  "  for  "  department." 

If  I,  line  I,  "  superintendent  "  for  "  commissioner." 
Section  6.     Margin  title:  "  division  "  for  "  department." 
If  2,  line  2,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 

lines  3-4,  "  members  of  board  of  directors  are 
officers,  directors,  or  stockholders,"  for 


172  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

"  mayor  is  an  officer,  director,  or  stock- 
holder,", 
line  4,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
line  5,  "  members  of  the  board  of  directors  are  " 

for  "  mayor  is." 
lines  9-10,  "  board  of  directors"  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
Section  7.     Margin  title:  "  division  "  for  "  department." 

%  3,  line  2,  *'  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and  to 

the  city  council." 
If  10,  line  2,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 

to  the  city  council." 
If  II,  line  2,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
to  the  city  council." 
Section  8.     Margin  title:  "  division  "  for  "  department." 

%  I,   lines   1-2,   "  board    of    directors  "   for   "  city 
council." 
line  4,  "  board  of  directors  "  for    "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
Section  9.     Margin  title:  "  division  "  for  "  department." 

\  2,  line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
council." 
Sections  10,  11,  12,  and  13.     Margin  titles:  "  division  "  for  "  de- 
partment." 
Article  X.     Municipal  Property. 

Section  i.     ^  i,  line  8,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 

If  2,  lines  I  and  3,  "  director  "  for  **  commissioner." 
lines  3-4,  Omit  "  and  approved  in  writing  by 

the  mayor." 
line  6,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
\  3,  line  2,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 

lines  3-4,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  coimcil." 
Section  2.     If  i,  lines   i,  9  and  15,  ''director"  for  "commis- 
sioner." 
Section  3.     Change  sub-title:  "board  of  directors"  for  "mayor 

and  city  council." 
If  I,  line  8,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
lines  11-13,  Omit  "  and  being  .  .  .  article  III." 
Une  14,  Omit  "  further." 
lines  18-19,  Omit  ''duly  approved  by  the  mayor." 


CHARTER  DRAFTS 


173 


line  22,  **  board  of  directors  "  for  ^'  mayor  and  to 
the  city  council." 
If  2,  line  3,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 

line  4,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
Section  4.     ^2,  line  11,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  coun- 
cU." 
If  3,  line  I,  Omit  "  approval  by  the  mayor  of  the." 

line  2,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  *'  city  council." 
If  4,  line  8,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 

city  council." 
^  5,  line  3,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
^  8,  line  8,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 

city  council." 
If  14,  line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
Section  5.     If  i,  line  i,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
%  2,  line  2,  "  director  "  for  **  commissioner." 
^  3,  line  I,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
If  4,  line  4,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
If  5,  lines  12-13,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor 
and  city  council." 
line  17,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
If  7,  line  2,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
^  8,  lines  3-4,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
Section  6.     If  2,  line  2,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
If  3,  line  I,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
Section  7.     If  i,  line  i,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
Section  8.     If  i,  lines  2-3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  **  mayor  or 
of  the  city  council." 
line  8,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
If  2,  line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
line  7,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 
^  3,  line  6,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
Section  9.     ^  3,  Hne  i,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
Section  11.   If  i,  line  9,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  *'  mayor  and 

city  council." 
Section  12.  If  i,  line  2,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
If  2,  line  2,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 


174  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor  and 
city  council." 
If  3,  line  2,  "  director  "  for  "  commissioner." 
line  3,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  mayor." 
Article  XI.     Enforcement. 

Section  2.     ^  i,  line  2,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
If  3,  line  I,  Insert  "  or  by  the  board  of  directors  " 
after  "  mayor." 
lines  2-3,  Omit  "  by  the  city  council  or." 
Section  3.     If  i,  line  2,  "  board  of  directors  "  for  "  city  council." 
Article  XII.     Enactment. 


PART  III 
NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS 

1.  The  proper  function  of  tables  of  contents  and  marginal  notes  in 
a  public  statute  is  to  facilitate  the  examination  of  the  law,  not  to  aid 
in  its  construction  (See  Provident  L.  6*  T.  Co.  v.  Hammondy  230  Pa.  407, 
418);  but  to  avoid  errors  and  contentions  this  should  be  made  clear 
in  the  charter  itself. 

2.  It  is  customary  to  insert  at  the  beginning  of  a  city  charter  a  care- 
ful description  of  boundaries,  ward  divisions,  etc.  This  is  the  place 
for  such  a  description. 

3.  The  idea  of  the  charter  is  that  the  municipal,  fiscal  and  calendar 
years  shall  coincide,  so  far  as  practicable,  and  that  the  city  election 
shall  be  held  in  the  first  part  of  the  preceding  December.  If  a  spring 
election  is  preferred  as  more  remote  from  the  date  of  the  state  election, 
or  as  likely  to  be  accompanied  by  better  weather,  the  dates  for  the 
municipal  and  fiscal  years  and  for  the  special  election  provided  in  sec. 
6  of  art.  VII  must  be  advanced  accordingly.  A  gap  of  several  months 
between  the  beginning  of  the  new  fiscal  year  and  the  beginning  of  a 
new  administration  is  to  be  avoided  if  possible. 

4.  Much  of  the  substance  of  this  article  may  properly  be  regulated, 
and  for  the  city  on  whose  experience  it  is  mainly  based  actually  is 
regulated,  by  the  general  statutes  applicable  to  elections;  but  as  these 
drafts  are  partly  intended  for  use  in  states  not  provided  with  similar 
electoral  machinery  the  more  important  and  peculiar  features  of  the 
system  are  here  set  out  at  length. 

The  details  have  been  carefully  modeled  after  the  plan  which  has 
been  in  successful  operation  in  the  city  of  Boston  for  the  past  few  years; 
but  certain  important  simplifications  have  been  introduced. 

5.  The  object  is  to  have  no  more  special  elections  than  are  abso- 
lutely necessary;  hence  the  distinction  between  vacancies  within  six 
months  after  a  regular  election  and  vacancies  occurring  later  in  the 
year. 

6.  The  number  of  signatures  required  under  the  nomination  paper 
system  has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion  and  evidently  no  choice 

»77 


178  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

can  be  made  which  will  satisfy  everyone.  The  number  suggested 
seems  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  case  as  set  out  in  ch.  iii,  c,  of 
Part  I,  supra,  pp.  21-23;  but  no  special  virtue  is  claimed  for  this 
particular  percentage. 

7.  There  are  many  forms  of  preferential  voting.  The  following 
method  is  the  simplest  and  the  one  which  should  be  experimented  with 
at  first: 

Art.  II,  sec.  7,  should  be  altered  so  that  there  will  appear  in  the  form 
of  ballot  three  columns  at  the  right  of  the  names  and  residences  of  the 
candidates,  headed  respectively,  —  "  First  Choice,"  "  Second  Choice," 
"  Third  Choice." 
These  instructions  should  be  printed  at  the  top  of  the  ballot: 

The  voter  is  given  an  opportunity  of  expressing  three  choices  in 

the  order  of  his  preference. 
To  express  your  first  preference  place  a  cross  X  in  the  space  at 
the  right  of  the  name  and  residence  of  the  candidate  desired 
in  the  column  headed  "  First  Choice." 
To  express  your  second  preference  place  a  cross  X  in  the  column 

headed  "  Second  Choice." 
To  express  your  third  preference  place  a  cross  X  in  the  column 

headed  "  Third  Choice." 
A  voter  may  mark  only  one  cross  after  the  name  of  any  candi- 
date. 
If  you  wrongly  mark,  tear,  or  deface  a  ballot  return  it  and  ob- 
tain another. 
These  instructions  should  be  inserted  as  paragraph  five  of  sec.  7 
of  art.  II: 

If  there  is  a  majority  of  "  first  choice  "  votes  for  any  candidate,  he 
shall  be  deemed  to  have  been  elected.  If  there  is  no  such  majority 
then  the  "  first  choice  "  and  "  second  choice  "  votes  for  each  candidate 
shall  be  added  together  and  if  there  is  a  majority  of  such  votes  for  any 
candidate  he  shall  be  deemed  to  have  been  elected.  If  there  is  no  such 
majority  the  "  first  choice,"  "  second  choice  "  and  "  third  choice"  for 
each  candidate  shall  be  added  together  and  the  candidate  who  receives 
a  plurality  of  such  votes  shall  be  deemed  to  have  been  elected. 

8.  This  clause  is  important  to  prevent  the  ambiguous  or  misleading 
forms  in  which  questions  often  appear  upon  the  ballot.  "  Shall  chap- 
ter so  and  so  of  the  acts  of  19 —  be  accepted  "  is  one  of  them.     One  of 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 79 

the  worst  features  of  the  referendum  in  practice  is  the  ease  with  which 
the  object  or  effect  of  the  proposed  law  can  be  misstated. 

9.  More  detailed  specifications  for  the  power  of  the  mayor  are  com- 
mon in  city  charters;  but  they  seem  unnecessary.     See  also  Note  64. 

10.  The  idea  is  to  give  the  mayor  full  concurrent  power  by  way  of 
absolute  veto  over  all  money  orders;  but  a  qualified  veto  only  over 
other  votes  of  the  city  council.     See  Part  I,  ch.  ii,  supra,  pp.  15-17. 

Four  kinds  of  veto  power  are  found  in  the  legislation  of  this  country: 
the  original  or  qualified  veto  which  may  be  overridden  by  the  legisla- 
tive body,  usually  upon  a  two- thirds  or  three-quarters  vote;  the  abso- 
lute veto;  the  right  to  veto  particular  items  in  a  money  order,  either 
absolutely  or  subject  to  further  action  by  the  legislative  body;  and  the 
right,  qualified  or  absolute  as  the  case  may  be,  to  reduce  items  in  a 
money  order.  All  these  forms  have  been  found  useful;  but  it  is  evident 
that  the  last  three  are  necessary  if  the  executive  is  to  have  full  concur- 
rent power  over  appropriations  and  loans.  In  the  charter  drafts  the 
mayor,  accordingly,  is  given  the  absolute  power  to  reduce  items,  to 
eliminate  items,  and  to  veto  the  whole  bill. 

11.  The  city  solicitor  is  given  precedence  over  the  chairman  of  the 
city  council  because,  being  the  appointee  of  the  mayor  and  in  a  sense  his 
principal  political  adviser,  he  is  more  likely  to  give  a  continuation  of 
the  administrative  policy  which  the  people  in  electing  the  mayor  may 
be  assumed  to  have  voted  for,  than  is  the  chairman  of  a  body  elected 
for  a  different  purpose. 

12.  The  status  and  powers  of  an  acting  mayor  have  been  the  cause 
of  much  litigation,  and  the  writer  has  attempted  to  define  them  in  such 
a  way  as  to  avoid  misunderstanding.  The  person  (under  this  charter 
the  city  solicitor,  or  the  chairman  of  the  city  council)  who  actually  fills 
the  office  of  mayor  during  a  vacancy  should  have  all  the  powers  of  that 
officer;  but  one  who  merely  acts  as  mayor  pending  the  absence  or  ill- 
ness of  this  official  does  not  require  and  should  not  have  anything  like 
the  same  powers.  The  former  is  the  mayor  of  the  city  until  a  new  elec- 
tion is  held.  The  acting  mayor  is  or  should  be  merely  a  temporary 
substitute.  The  statutes  defining  the  powers  of  an  acting  mayor  are 
generally  vague  and  sometimes  entirely  silent.  It  is  sometimes  pro- 
vided that  he  shall  be  acting  mayor  "  when  the  occasion  arises,"  and 
his  powers  are  sometimes  defined  merely  as  extending  to  "  matters  not 
admitting  of  delay."     This  phrase,  although  admittedly  ambiguous 


l8o  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

(see,  for  instance,  Dimick  v.  Barry,  212  Mass.  165)  is  retained,  but  is 
qualified  or  illustrated  by  the  context,  and  it  is  the  hope  of  the  writer 
that  the  clause  as  drawn  will  be  found  so  plain  as  to  avoid  all  contro- 
versy as  to  what  the  acting  mayor  can  do  and  cannot  do. 

13.  These  provisions  have  been  carefully  drawn  in  the  hope  that 
they  are  sufficiently  precise  to  avoid  the  unseemly  controversies  and 
litigation  which  have  so  frequently  arisen  over  the  office  of  chairman 
of  the  municipal  legislature. 

14.  It  is  not  intended  by  this  clause  to  prevent  meetings  in  camera, 
which  in  a  small  body  are  often  desirable  and  are  inevitable  anyway. 
What  can  be  done,  however,  is  to  see  that  the  final  votes  take  place  at 
a  public  session  at  which  any  member  may  speak  his  mind. 

It  may  be  noted  at  this  point  that  the  charter  contains  no  provision 
that  the  council  shall  be  judge  of  the  qualifications  of  its  own  members. 
This  provision  is  found  in  almost  every  city  charter  with  which  the 
writer  is  familiar  but  is  entirely  inconsistent  with  an  electoral  system 
which  specifies  the  manner  in  which  the  members  shall  be  nominated 
and  elected.  In  all  such  cases  the  clause  is  probably  inoperative;  and 
it  is  therefore  omitted  from  the  charter  drafts  in  this  book. 

15.  In  like  manner  the  common  provision  that  the  title  of  an  ordi- 
nance shall  be  confined  to  a  single  subject  is  omitted.  This  is  a  clause 
commonly  found  not  only  in  city  charters  but  in  state  constitutions. 
In  the  experience  of  the  writer,  it  is  more  likely  to  prove  a  source 
of  litigation  than  to  accomplish  its  ostensible  purpose  of  giving  infor- 
mation to  the  public. 

16.  The  mere  perusal  of  this  and  the  following  section  is  a  sufficient 
comment  upon  the  objection  sometimes  heard  that  imder  the  responsi- 
ble executive  type  of  charter  there  is  nothing  for  the  city  council  to  do. 
Additional  powers  and  duties  will  also  be  found  scattered  through  the 
other  articles  of  the  charter. 

17.  This  provision  is,  it  is  believed,  original,  or  at  least  uncommon 
in  an  American  city  charter.  It  is  intended  to  provide  what  in  foreign 
cities  is  a  large  source  of  public  revenue.  The  owner  of  real  estate  who 
procures  from  the  city  the  right  to  extend  his  property  across  the  bor- 
der of  the  highway,  either  in  the  form  of  bay  windows  or  of  under- 
ground vaults,  ought  to  be  willing  to  pay  for  it.  The  better  form  of 
payment  is  by  way  of  annual  rent,  and  express  power,  therefore,  is 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  l8l 

given  to  the  mayor  and  city  council  to  collect  the  fair  annual  value  of 
such  encroachments  in  this  manner. 

1 8.  This  clause  will  be  found  to  be  more  or  less  inoperative  except 
in  cases  where  the  land  taken  has  been  assessed  as  a  separate  parcel. 
In  such  cases  its  utiUty  is  obvious. 

19.  It  is  better  that  the  procedure  in  eminent  domain  should  be 
fixed  by  a  uniform  state  law  than  that,  as  frequently  happens,  different 
proceedings  should  be  provided,  and  different  rules  for  the  measure  of 
damage  laid  down,  for  takings  for  different  purposes.  If  in  any  state 
there  is  no  general  law  covering  the  subject  this  clause  in  the  charter 
will,  of  course,  have  to  be  eliminated  and  a  special  provision  substi- 
tuted. This  should  follow  the  state  precedents.  The  statutory  pro- 
visions of  the  several  states  for  proceedings  under  the  eminent  domain 
are  so  different  that  the  writer  has  used  here  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
charter  drafts  the  most  general  words.  If  these  drafts  are  made  use  of 
care  should  be  taken  that  the  reference  to  the  eminent  domain  laws  of 
the  state  should  be  accurate. 

20.  The  object  of  this  clause  is  to  prevent  the  acquisition  by  the 
mayor  and  city  council  of  property  for  department  purposes  which  in 
the  opinion  of  the  department  heads  is  not  needed.  This  is  a  very 
common  cause  of  waste,  especially  of  moneys  obtained  by  loan. 

21.  In  most  of  the  states  there  is  a  "  public  service  "  or  "  public 
utilities  "  commission,  having  general  jurisdiction  over  the  objects 
named.  In  some  states,  as  in  Massachusetts,  there  are  two  boards, 
one  for  railroads  and  street  railways,  and  another  for  gas  and  electric 
lighting  companies.  The  writer  has  attempted  to  draft  this  clause 
so  as  to  cover  both  these  cases. 

If  there  is  no  such  state  board  the  clause  may  still,  we  think,  be 
allowed  to  stand.  It  would  be  appHcable  as  soon  as  such  a  board  should 
be  created;  and  the  time  is  evidently  not  far  distant  when  all  the  states 
will  be  provided  with  administrative  machinery  of  this  character.  See 
Note  49. 

See  the  reasons  for  this  plan  of  franchise-granting  as  set  forth  in 
Part  I,  ch.  V,  a,  supra,  pp.  43-44. 

22.  This  provision  for  the  approval  of  long-term  contracts  is  model- 
ed after  the  Boston  charter  amendments  of  1909;  the  idea  being  that 
the  power  to  make  contracts  which  are  to  bind  the  appropriating 


1 82  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

power  of  succeeding  city  governments  should  not  be  vested  solely  in  the 
administrative  officers  for  the  first  year  of  the  term,  as  without  this 
clause  would  be  the  case  under  the  general  provisions  of  article  VIII. 
The  question  having  arisen,  under  the  clause  as  drawn  in  the  Boston 
charter  (see  Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1909,  ch.  486,  sec.  6), 
whether  the  ratification  of  the  city  council  should  follow  or  precede  the 
approval  of  the  mayor,  the  clause  in  this  charter  has  been  drafted  to 
make  it  plain  that  the  mayor  must  take  the  responsibility  of  approving 
the  contract  before  it  is  submitted  to  the  city  council.    See  Note  52. 

23.  See  the  definition  of  the  phrase  "  mayor  and  city  council "  in 
sec.  I,  art.  I. 

24.  See  Part  I,  ch.  viii,  d,  supra,  pp.  74-75. 

25.  Much  confusion  and  some  litigation  have  been  caused  by  the 
loose  manner  in  which  the  tenure  of  appointees  to  office  is  commonly 
expressed,  particularly  when  the  appointment  is  to  fill  a  vacancy.  As 
the  clause  here  under  discussion  and  the  provision  respecting  vacancies 
in  section  5  of  this  article  are  drawn,  when  a  vacancy  occurs  and  is 
filled,  the  new  appointee  holds  for  the  full  term  of  three  years  from  the 
first  Monday  of  the  January  preceding;  unless  he  is  a  member  of  a 
board,  in  which  case  he  holds  for  the  remainder  of  the  term  for  which 
his  predecessor  was  appointed. 

26.  The  reasons  for  distinguishing  in  the  mode  of  appointment  be- 
tween the  different  department  heads  are  fully  set  forth  in  Part  I,  ch. 
iv,  b  (2)  and  ch.  vi,  c,  supra,  pp.  38-40  and  53. 

27.  This  provision  assumes,  according  to  the  definition  in  art.  I, 
sec.  I,  the  existence  of  a  state  board  having  general  jurisdiction  over 
the  appointment  of  municipal  officers  and  employees.  If  there  is  no 
such  state  commission,  but  a  mimicipal  civil  service  commission,  the 
references  in  this  article  and  the  definition  in  art.  I  should  be  altered. 
If  there  is  no  such  board,  either  state  or  local,  a  local  board  should  be 
created  by  the  act.  The  writer  is  very  strongly  of  the  opinion,  how- 
ever, for  the  reasons  explained  in  Part  I,  ch.  vi,  supra,  pp.  50-57,  that 
the  board  should  be  a  state  commission. 

28.  This  is  the  ordinary  civil  service  system  as  it  exists  in  some  of  the 
states.  It  is  very  different,  of  course,  from  the  special  examination 
plan  provided  for  the  higher  officers. 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 83 

29.  Professional  work  must  frequently  be  secured  from  persons  not 
in  the  regular  employment  of  the  city,  but  the  exemption  of  such  per- 
sons from  the  civil  service  requirements  has  been  found  to  be  subject 
to  abuse.     Hence  the  qualification  in  the  text. 

30.  See  Part  I,  ch.  vi,  f,  supra,  p.  57,  and  Note  56. 

31.  This  is  to  prevent  the  demoralization  of  the  municipal  service 
by  permissive  —  and  sometimes  (as  in  Massachusetts)  compulsory  — 
veterans'  exemption  acts.  These  laws  have  done  much  to  make  the 
civil  service  system  inoperative,  and  to  bring  it  into  disrepute.  They 
are  held  to  be  unconstitutional  in  some  states,  but  not  in  all.  The 
effect  of  this  clause  would  be  to  relieve  the  city  from  the  application 
of  any  such  exemption  laws  that  may  have  been  previously  passed  by 
the  legislature,  although  it  will  not,  of  course,  prevent  the  passage  and 
application  to  the  city  of  similar  laws  in  the  future. 

32.  See  Part  I,  ch.  vi,  e,  supra,  pp.  53-56. 

33.  The  statement  is  to  set  forth  the  "  specific  "  reasons  for  the  re- 
moval. Under  a  statute  which  simply  requires  the  removing  authority 
to  give  his  "  reasons  "  it  has  been  held  that  such  a  phrase  as  "  for  the 
good  of  the  service  "  is  sufficient.  This  reminds  one  of  the  reason  said 
to  have  been  given  by  Cromwell  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment, that  he  did  it  "  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  the  nation.'* 
It  is  clear  that  a  provision  of  this  sort,  in  order  to  be  of  any  benefit  to 
the  official  removed,  should  require  some  specification  of  the  reasons 
for  removal. 

34.  This  paragraph  secures  to  the  department  heads  the  absolute 
power  of  removing  their  subordinates,  and,  as  pointed  out  in  Part  I,  ch. 
vi,  e,  pp.  53-56,  is  as  important  in  public  as  in  private  work.  At  the 
same  time  it  gives  a  discharged  employee  the  right  to  place  upon  the 
permanent  records  of  the  city  his  answer  to  the  reasons  assigned  for  his 
removal.  The  privilege  is,  of  course,  a  poor  equivalent  for  the  right  of 
appeal  to  the  court  sometimes  given;  but  it  is  about  all  that  can  be 
granted  without  destroying  the  discipline  and  efficiency  of  the  depart- 
ment. If  some  right  of  appeal  is  thought  necessary,  it  should  comprise 
no  more  than  the  right  to  a  summary  hearing  before  the  mayor. 

35.  The  power  to  make  a  temporary  appointment  is  limited  to  one 
of  the  regular  officers  of  the  city,  for  the  reason  that  otherwise  an  easy 


1 84  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

method  would  exist  for  evading  the  whole  scheme  of  appointments 
under  the  civil  service  system. 

36.  This  list  of  requirements  for  the  annual  estimates  is  beHeved  to 
include  most  of  the  financial  information  necessary  for  the  preparation 
and  passage  of  the  budget,  not  omitting  the  important  item  of  bills 
payable. 

37.  Perhaps  in  a  large  city  this  function  should  be  intrusted  to  a 
small  body  of  permanent  officials;  but  for  a  city  of  100,000  people  the 
auditor,  if  a  competent  person  and  selected  as  he  practically  would  be 
under  this  charter  by  the  state  civil  service  commission,  should  be  com- 
petent to  make  the  estimates  in  question. 

^2>.   See  Part  I,  ch.  vii,  b,  supra,  pp.  59-60. 

39.  A  provision  authorizing  the  city  to  include  in  the  tax  levy  a  sur- 
charge or  "  overlay  "  is  common,  but  the  purpose  of  such  provisions 
is  not  generally  imderstood.  The  object  of  the  Massachusetts  law  upon 
this  subject  is  simply  to  cover  the  taxes  lost  through  abatements  and 
to  avoid  fractional  divisions  of  the  amount  to  be  assessed;  but  the  loss 
from  abatements  is  small,  and  in  practice  the  overlay  is  used  to  swell 
the  annual  expenditures  beyond  the  amount  that  could  otherwise  be 
appropriated.  The  clause  as  drafted  in  the  charter  Hmits  the  overlay 
to  such  an  amount  as  may,  in  the  opinion  of  the  auditor,  be  necessary 
to  avoid  fractional  divisions,  and  to  cover  abatements  and  also  the 
estimated  difference,  if  any,  between  the  probable  collections  from 
taxes  during  the  fiscal  year  and  the  tax  levy  for  the  current  year.  The 
current  practice  is  to  appropriate  the  full  amount  of  the  tax  levy,  and, 
as  the  whole  sum  will  not  come  in  during  the  fiscal  year,  to  assume  that 
the  deficit  will  be  offset  by  the  amount  of  taxes  for  the  preceding  years 
which  will  be  collected  during  the  year  in  question.  If,  however,  the 
tax  levy  is  for  a  gradually  increasing  amount  this  calculation  will 
evidently  fail,  and  the  object  of  the  clause  in  question  is  to  cover  any 
deficit  due  to  this  cause  as  well  as  the  deficit  due  to  abatements. 

40.  This  **  alternative  clause  "  is  beUeved  to  be  original,  and  is  sub- 
mitted as  an  improvement  over  the  ordinary  statutory  tax  Umit,  and 
also,  except  for  the  larger  cities,  as  better  than  an  unrestricted  taxing 
power.  Except  for  such  cities  it  illustrates  what  the  writer  conceives 
to  be  the  true  and  practical  scope  of  the  referendum  in  municipal  ad- 
ministration. 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  iSj 

41.  Furniture,  gymnastic  apparatus  and  other  perishable  property- 
ought  not  to  be  procured  from  loans  which  are  to  be  repaid  by  the  tax- 
payers of  a  period  subsequent  to  the  disappearance  of  the  property 
through  use  and  wear.  Five-year  loans  are  sometimes  suggested  for 
such  purposes,  but  the  better  way,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  is  to 
procure  the  money  entirely  from  taxes. 

The  provisions  of  this  article  prohibit  the  raising  of  money  by  loan  for 
"  current  expenses  ",  but  permit  the  borrowing  of  money  for  purposes 
of  an  annually  recurrent  nature,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  many  persons, 
should  also  be  met  from  taxes.  Such  expenditures  are  common  to  all 
large  cities  for  schoolhouses,  fire  department  buildings  and  similar 
purposes;  and  it  is  obvious  that  if  the  necessity  for  the  construction  of 
such  buildings  is  so  frequent  as  to  involve  a  loan  each  year,  it  is  just  as 
well  in  the  long  run  to  raise  the  money  by  taxes  as  by  loan.  The  time 
soon  comes  when  the  aggregate  payments  on  account  of  debt  incurred 
for  these  purposes  will  equal  what  the  annual  expense  for  the  buildings 
themselves  would  amount  to  if  defrayed  from  taxes.  For  the  smaller 
cities  this  is,  of  course,  not  the  case.  The  writer  would  suggest,  there- 
fore, that  if  this  charter  is  to  be  applied  to  a  city  so  large  as  to  require 
the  annual  construction  of  schoolhouses  and  other  public  buildings, 
loans  for  the  purpose  be  prohibited. 

42.  A  somewhat  different  scheme  will  be  found  in  the  Massachusetts 
Acts  and  Resolves,  1913,  ch.  719,  sec.  5.  The  schedule  in  the  text,  how- 
ever, is  simpler  and  appears  to  the  writer  to  be  otherwise  preferable. 

43.  See  the  discussion  of  the  respective  merits  of  serial  and  sinking 
fimd  bonds  in  Part  I,  ch.  vii,  g,  supra,  pp.  62-67. 

44.  This  clause  is  to  cover  a  loophole  in  the  serial  bond  system  which 
the  ingenuity  of  the  municipal  politician  was  not  slow  to  discover. 
Some  cities  issued  the  bonds  in  serial  form  but  pro\'ided  that  the  first 
payment  should  not  be  made  for,  say,  three  or  five  years. 

45.  See  Part  I,  ch.  vii,  h,  supra,  p.  67. 

46.  Strictly  speaking,  these  moneys  should  be  used  to  meet  the 
latest  payments  on  account  of  outstanding  serial  notes  to  fall  due,  but 
this  would  involve  the  establishment  of  a  sinking  fund  for  the  purpose, 
and  as  one  of  the  main  objects  of  this  section  is  to  get  rid  of  the  whole 
sinking  fund  system,  it  is  provided  that  the  moneys  in  question  shall  be 
used  to  pay  off  debt  as  rapidly  as  possible. 


1 86  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

47.  This  clause  is  intended  to  confine  the  investment  of  the  sinking 
funds  to  public  securities  and  deposits  in  responsible  banking  institu- 
tions. It  prohibits  the  investment  of  these  funds  in  real  estate  and 
mortgages  on  real  estate.  It  also  prohibits  the  vicious  practice  of 
"  investing  "  sinking  funds  in  the  city's  own  bonds.  See  the  reasons 
for  this  prohibition  stated  Part  I,  ch.  vii,  g,  supra,  pp.  62-67. 

Trust  funds  are  by  art.  X,  sec.  12,  to  be  invested  under  similar  re- 
strictions.    See  Note  95. 

48.  This  section  is  of  course  to  be  omitted  wherever  there  is  a  con- 
stitutional municipal  debt  limit.  Where  there  is  no  such  constitu- 
tional provision  the  section  should  be  retained  and  the  blank  filled  out 
by  the  insertion  of  such  a  figure  as  seems  under  the  circumstances  best. 
The  figure  may  well  vary  for  different  cities  owing  to  the  diversity  of 
financial  and  other  conditions,  but  if  this  charter  is  to  take  the  form  of 
a  general  law,  the  writer  would  suggest  that  either  2,  2^,  or  3  per  cent 
be  adopted  as  the  proper  limit. 

49.  See  Part  I,  ch.  iv,  b  (i),  supra,  pp.  37-38,  for  the  reasons  for  this 
clause.  If  there  is  no  state  board  having  the  jurisdiction  in  question, 
the  clause  may  either  be  omitted;  or,  as  suggested  in  the  cases  con- 
sidered in  art.  IV,  sec.  4,  art.  VII,  sec.  15  and  art.  X,  sec.  8,  allowed 
to  remain  and  become  operative  when  such  a  board  is  created.  See 
Note  21. 

If  the  suggestion  made  in  ch.  iv,  b  (i),  supra  pp.  37-38,  for  a  state 
board  with  jurisdiction  by  way  of  suspensory  veto  over  municipal 
loans  should  find  favor,  the  reader  is  referred  to  a  bill  which  was  drafted 
by  the  writer  for  the  speaker  of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives in  191 2.  It  did  not  become  a  law.  The  measure  was 
in  substance  as  follows : 

"Section  i.  The— ,   the and   the  shall 

constitute  a  board  to  be  known  as  the  board  of  public  debt, 

hereinafter  called  the  board;  the shall  be  chairman,  and 

the  other  two  members  shall  receive  each  the  sum  of dol- 
lars per  annum  for  their  services  on  this  board  in  addition  to 

their  salaries  as and respectively.      The  board 

shall  have  authority  to  appoint  or  employ  such  clerks,  book- 
keepers, experts  and  other  assistants  as  it  may  deem  necessary 
for  the  discharge  of  its  duties,  and  shall  be  allowed  for  its 
expenses  during  the  year  nineteen  hundred  and  twelve,  the  sum 
of dollars  which  is  hereby  appropriated  for  the  purpose. 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS                  1 87 
The  office  of  the  board  shall  be  in  the  rooms  assigned  to  the . 


Section  2.  All  applications  to  the  General  Court  by  any  state 
officer  or  board,  by  any  county  or  by  any  city,  town  or  political 
district  within  the  commonwealth  for  leave  to  borrow  money, 
or  for  the  issue  of  state,  county,  city  or  district  bonds  or  loans 
of  any  kind  shall  be  considered  by  the  board.  No  state  officer 
or  board,  county  commissioners,  or  city,  town  or  district 
authorities  shall  make  any  such  request  of  the  General  Court  or 
any  committee  thereof  without  having  given  the  board  thirty 
days'  notice  in  writing  of  such  request,  with  the  detailed  reasons 
therefor.  The  clerks  of  the  Senate  and  House  shall  upon  receipt 
of  any  petition  for  the  passage  of  any  law  authorizing  or  direct- 
ing the  issue  of  state,  county,  town,  city  or  district  bonds  or 
loans  of  any  kind  immediately  transmit  a  copy  of  the  petition 
and  accompanying  bill,  if  any,  to  the  board.  Upon  notice  of 
any  such  request  or  petition,  the  board  shall  forthwith  investi- 
gate the  necessity  or  expediency  of  the  proposed  loan  or  debt. 
The  board  shall  have  power  to  examine  the  books,  records, 
papers  and  accounts  of  any  state  department,  county,  board  or 
institution,  city,  town  or  district  by  which  or  for  whose  benefit 
the  proposed  loan  is  to  be  made  and  the  officers  and  employees 
of  such  department,  board  or  institution,  city,  county,  town  or 
district  shall  furnish  the  board  with  such  information  as  it  may 
request  concerning  the  debt  and  financial  condition  of  such 
department,  board,  institution,  city,  town,  county  or  district. 
As  soon  as  practicable  the  board  shall  report  to  the  General 
Court  the  facts  of  the  case  together  with  its  opinion  concerning 
the  necessity  or  expediency  of  the  proposed  loan,  and  such  other 
suggestions  as  it  may  deem  proper  concerning  existing  and 
future  debts  incurred  by  or  for  such  department,  board,  institu- 
tion, town,  city,  county  or  district. 

Section  3.  No  city,  or  town,  or  fire,  water  or  other  political 
district  of  the  commonwealth  shall  hereafter  issue  any  debt  or 
borrow  any  money,  except  under  the  laws  relating  to  loans  in 
anticipation  of  taxes,  until  sixty  days  after  a  copy  of  the  vote 
authorizing  the  loan  has  been  filed  with  the  board,  which  shall 
forthwith  investigate  the  necessity  or  expediency  of  the  pro- 
posed loan  and  shall  report  within  said  period  of  sixty  days  to 
the  city,  town  or  district  proposing  to  issue  the  loan,  whether  in 
the  opinion  of  the  board  said  loan  should  be  issued  or  not, 


1 88  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

together  in  case  of  disapproval  with  the  reasons  therefor.  No 
loan  thus  disapproved  by  the  board  shall  be  issued,  or  if  issued 
shall  be  valid,  unless  the  city,  town  or  district  which  has  voted 
the  same  shall  within  thirty  days  after  notice  of  the  disapproval 
of  the  board  again  vote  to  issue  the  said  loan.  This  vote  shall 
be  subject  to  the  same  requirements  of  law  as  the  vote  by  which 
the  loan  was  originally  authorized." 

50.   If  it  is  desired  to  provide  a  local  referendum  on  city  loans  the 
following  additional  section  is  suggested: 

Alternative  Section  16.  No  loan  shall  be  valid  unless  after  the 
referendum  passage  and  approval  as  hereinbefore  provided  of 
c  ause  ^j^^  order  or  vote  authorizing  it,  a  majority  of  the 

voters  present  and  voting  at  a  special  election  called  and  held 
in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law  as  modified  by  this  act  on  the 
first  Tuesday  in  May  of  any  year  shall  ratify  the  same.  At 
this  election  the  several  items  of  the  order  or  vote  shall  appear 
upon  the  ballot  in  the  following  form : 

Shall  loans  be  issued  for  the  following  purposes  ? 

Mark  a  cross  X  in  the  square  at  the  right  of  your  answer. 


Schools $50,000 

Yes 

No 

Street  Improvements $15,000 

Yes 

No 

The  amount  and  purpose  of  each  item  shall  appear  in  the  same 
language  as  in  the  order  or  vote.  If  a  majority  of  those  voting 
on  any  item  declare  in  favor  thereof  the  order  or  vote  shall  be 
valid  to  the  extent  of  such  item.  If  a  majority  of  those  voting 
on  any  item  declare  against  the  same,  the  order  or  vote  shall  be 
invalid  to  the  extent  of  such  item. 

51.  This  provision  that  alterations  in  and  additions  to  a  contract 
shall  be  subject  to  the  same  formalities  as  the  original  instrument,  is  of 
the  utmost  importance.  A  large  part  of  the  waste  and  no  small  part 
of  the  graft  incident  to  public  contract  work  has  been  due  to  the  fact 
that  claims  for  extras  and  additions  are  set  up  which  the  city  finds  it 
difficult  to  meet.  See  further  the  explanation  in  Part  I,  ch.  viii,  a, 
supra f  pp.  68-71. 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 89 

52.  See  Note  22  on  pp.  181-182  as  to  the  reason  for  this  clause  and 
its  operation,  insofar  as  the  relative  priority  of  action  by  the  city 
council  and  the  mayor  is  concerned. 

A  word  as  to  the  legal  status  of  these  continuing  contracts  may  not 
be  out  of  place.  It  has  sometimes  been  held  that  a  continuing  con- 
tract, creating  obligations  payable  in  future  years,  should  be  regarded 
as  a  debt,  and  that  the  aggregate  amount  of  the  payments  under  it 
should  be  included  in  computing  the  borrowing  capacity  of  the  city 
under  a  constitutional  debt  limit  provision.  The  prevailing  opinion, 
including  that  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  is,  however,  that 
such  laws  are  not  within  the  scope  of  an  ordinary  municipal  debt  Hmit. 
There  is,  however,  involved  in  this  subject  another  and  more  diflSicult 
question.  This  relates  to  the  right  of  the  city  government  for  the  time 
being  to  bind  the  appropriating  power  of  succeeding  city  governments. 
There  is  very  little  law  upon  this  question,  but  in  the  opinion  of  the 
writer,  who  has  had  occasion  to  consider  it  once  or  twice  professionally, 
in  the  absence  of  legislative  sanction  such  a  contract  is  not  binding 
upon  the  city  except  to  the  extent  of  the  installment  which  is  payable 
during  the  year  in  which  the  contract  was  entered  into.  In  accordance 
with  this  view,  such  contracts  are  sometimes  made  expressly  "  subject 
to  appropriations  ";  and  this  phrase  has  been  thought  to  mean  that  if 
the  city  government  in  any  subsequent  year  during  the  continuance  of 
the  contract  makes  any  appropriation  for  the  general  subject  matter, 
the  contract  at  once  attaches  to  the  appropriation,  and  this  becomes 
automatically  available  to  meet  the  contract  payment  for  the  year. 
That  is  to  say,  if  a  contract  is  made  with  an  electric  lighting  company 
for  the  payment  of  $10,000  a  year  for  the  next  ten  years  and  any  appro- 
priation is  made  during  any  year  of  the  term  for  the  general  subject  of 
public  lighting  the  money  becomes  at  once  available  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  the  contract  for  that  year.  The  writer  has  always  had 
some  doubt  whether  this  is  a  proper  construction  of  the  phrase  **  subject 
to  appropriations  "  if  inserted  in  such  a  contract;  but  in  any  event  it 
seems  wise  to  clear  the  matter  up  in  the  charter  so  that  the  rights  of  the 
respective  parties  may  be  plain.  The  city  cannot  generally  expect  to 
get  good  prices  on  these  matters  from  a  private  company  unless  it  is 
willing  to  enter  into  a  long-term  contract;  and  the  company  on  the 
other  hand  is  entitled  to  a  contract  which  is  binding  on  the  city.  See 
Part  I,  ch.  viii,  a,  supra,  pp.  68-71. 

The  provisions  of  art.  VII,  sec.  3,  and  art.  VIII,  sec.  8,  are  intended 
to  make  it  clear  that,  subject  to  the  restrictions  named,  such  contracts 


IQO  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

may  lawfully  be  entered  into,  and  that  when  made  they  are  binding  on 
the  city. 

53.  This  paragraph  is  what  the  writer  has  devised  as  a  working  plan 
to  meet  the  legitimate  requirements  of  the  executive  departments  with- 
out leaving  more  than  the  smallest  opportunity  open  for  evasion. 
Some  latitude  must  be  allowed,  but  on  the  other  hand  the  lowest  bidder 
ought  not  to  be  passed  by  mthout  such  cause  and  such  formalities  as 
will  tend  to  prevent  the  abuse  of  the  exception. 

54.  The  phrase  "  lowest  bidder  "  and  the  whole  of  this  paragraph 
is  intended  to  apply  to  unit  price  and  percentage  contracts  as  well  as 
to  lump-sum  contracts.  If  there  is  any  doubt  on  this  point,  the  clause 
should  be  amplified  so  as  to  remove  the  doubt. 

55.  The  subdivision  or  "  spUtting  "  of  contracts  for  the  purpose  of 
evading  a  requirement  of  this  nature  is  one  of  the  most  frequent 
devices  of  fraud  or  favoritism,  and  the  clause  in  question,  together 
with  the  penalties  provided  in  art.  XI,  are  intended  to  make  this  prac- 
tice more  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  As  an  illustration  of  the  persist- 
ency of  unscrupulous  officials  in  their  effort  to  evade  the  obvious 
meaning  of  a  law  requiring  that  contracts  involving  over  a  certain 
sum  be  let  by  public  competition  and  advertisement,  the  writer  may 
quote  the  remark  made  under  oath  by  the  chairman  of  a  public  board 
that  the  reason  why  he  had  split  up  purchases  aggregating  nearly 
$20,000  into  ten  contracts  of  about,  say,  $1990  each,  and  let  them 
all  to  a  favored  contractor  without  competition,  was  his  desire  to 
"  comply  "  with  the  law! 

56.  The  practice  of  giving  a  preference  to  local  contractors  is  one  of 
the  commonest  ways  of  cheating  the  taxpayers  of  a  city,  and  ought  to 
be  heavily  penalized.     Two  illustrations  may  be  cited. 

A  certain  New  England  town  erected  only  a  few  years  ago  its  most 
expensive  pubhc  building  at  a  known  cost  of  more  than  fifty  per  cent 
in  excess  of  what  a  contractor  from  a  neighboring  city  had  agreed  to  do 
the  work  for,  the  avowed  reason  being  merely  that  the  work  should  be 
given  to  local  people. 

In  1898,  during  an  investigation  of  the  finances  of  one  of  the  largest 
municipal  lighting  plants  in  the  country,  it  appeared  that  the  entire 
manufacturing  plant  (that  is,  the  machinery)  was  obsolete  before  it 
was  installed,  the  reason  being  that  there  was  no  manufacturer  of  elec- 
trical apparatus  in  the  city  who  was  making  the  type  of  machinery 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  19I 

then  considered  best.  The  result  was  that  within  a  few  years  the 
machinery  was  scrapped  and  replaced  with  what  ought  to  have  been 
installed  in  the  first  instance.  It  is  needless  to  add  that  the  cost  of 
both  installations  was  paid  for  out  of  borrowed  money. 

Further  illustrations  of  the  consequences  of  preferring  local  contrac- 
tors to  the  lowest  bidder  may  be  found  in. the  Reports  of  the  Boston 
Finance  Commission,  1907-09, 1,  pp.  77,  277,  451-483.  See  also  Part 
I,  ch.  vi,  f,  and  viii,  a,  supra,  pp.  57  and  68-71. 

57.  This  clause  is  of  course  the  clinching  sanction  of  the  system 
devised  in  this  charter  for  the  prevention  of  contract  frauds.  If  an 
illegal  contract  can  at  any  time  be  avoided  upon  petition  of  ten  citi- 
zens, the  contractor  himself  is  going  to  see  that  his  relations  with  the 
city  are  within  the  law. 

58.  This  is  an  original  provision  and  one  which  the  writer  suggests 
with  some  diffidence  owing  to  the  inherent  difficulty  of  enforcing  it. 
The  impossibility,  however,  of  preventing  what  is  in  many  cities  the 
principal  cause  of  waste  and  political  graft,  that  is,  the  doing  or  the 
pretense  of  doing  by  day  labor  what  cannot  properly  be  done  in  that 
way,  is  so  great  that  any  reasonable  plan  for  putting  a  stop  to  it 
should  at  least  be  tried. 

59.  See  Note  57,  supra. 

60.  This  section,  while  doubtless  difficult  to  enforce  (see  Part  I,  ch. 
viii,  e,  supra,  p.  75)  will  nevertheless  act  as  a  stimulant  to  the  per- 
formance of  their  full  duty  by  officials  who  wish  to  do  so,  and  in 
terrorem  over  those  who  do  not. 

61.  The  provision  that  salaries  shall  be  paid  only  after  they  have 
been  earned  would  seem  to  be  unnecessary,  but  in  some  cities  the  prac- 
tice has  obtained  for  years  of  prepaying  a  certain  class  of  city  employees 
upon  the  theory  that  if  death,  resignation,  or  removal  intervene  before 
the  lapse  of  the  month  for  which  they  have  been  paid,  the  over-pay- 
ment will  be  returned  to  the  city.  This  obviously  does  not  happen,  or 
at  least  does  not  always  happen,  and  the  prepayment  itself  should  be 
prohibited. 

62.  The  intention  of  the  first  paragraph  in  this  section  is  to  see  that 
so-called  "  claims  ",  which  when  outside  the  limits  of  a  written  obliga- 
tion are  a  frequent  source  of  waste  and  fraud,  are  not  paid  without  the 
most  careful  examination  and  preliminary  approval. 


192  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

The  second  paragraph  is  in  like  manner  designed  to  prevent  over- 
payments by  the  city  upon  judgment  unless  this  is  the  result  of  a  trial, 
or  after  the  parties  are  at  issue  the  amount  has  been  approved  first  by 
the  city  solicitor  and  afterwards  by  the  mayor  and  city  council. 

63.  The  writer  would  like  to  have  seen  his  way  to  the  drawing  of 
some  clause  that  would  effectively  curtail  the  extent  to  which  depart- 
ment reports  are  sometimes  padded  and  prolonged.  There  is  in  many 
of  our  cities  a  great  waste  of  ink  and  money  due  to  this  cause.  It  is  not 
easy,  however,  to  stop  this  leak  by  law. 

64.  City  charters  customarily  contain  many  more  provisions  re- 
specting the  duties  which  are  to  be  performed  by  the  several  depart- 
ments than  have  been  inserted  in  the  charter  drafts  in  this  book.  The 
writer  prefers  a  more  general  statement  for  the  department  heads  as 
well  as  for  the  mayor.  See  Note  9,  supra,  p.  179.  One  reason  is  that 
most  of  the  duties  to  be  performed  by  the  heads  of  departments  are  of 
a  statutory  nature,  and  the  laws  vary  in  different  states,  so  that  a  bill 
intended  as  a  model  draft  had  better  not  attempt  to  specify  them.  In 
the  next  place  many  of  the  duties  of  these  officers  are  obvious  and  re- 
quire no  specification. 

Art.  IX,  however,  contains  for  some  officers,  namely,  the  auditor, 
treasurer  and  assessors,  and  art.  X  contains  for  the  commissioner  of 
property,  much  more  detailed  directions  as  to  the  duties  to  be  per- 
formed. The  reason  is  that  the  duties  specified  are  particularly  im- 
portant and  are  not  likely  to  be  discharged  unless  they  are  mentioned 
in  the  charter  and  penalties  imposed  for  not  performing  them.  The 
"  teeth  "  of  an  effective  public  law  should  be  visible. 

65.  The  section  devoted  to  the  annual  report  of  the  city  auditor  is 
regarded  by  the  writer  as  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  entire  act. 
It  represents  the  result  of  much  consideration  given  to  the  subject  dur- 
ing the  past  twenty-five  years,  and  is  believed  to  include  all  the  infor- 
mation which  any  member  of  the  city  government  or  the  inquiring 
citizen  has  the  right  to  find  in  a  condensed  report  of  the  finances  of  the 
city.  Many  of  the  directions  will  seem  to  be  new,  but  as  a  matter  of 
fact  there  is  hardly  one  which  has  not  at  one  time  or  another  been  re- 
commended by  the  writer  either  officially  or  professionally  for  incor- 
poration in  such  a  report. 

It  may  also  seem,  even  to  one  famiUar  with  city  business,  that  this 
section  involves  too  much  work.     This  is  not  so,  however,  because 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  I93 

most  of  the  work  when  done  once  can  be  carried  along  from  year  to 
year  without  alteration.  Wherever  the  system  contemplated  by  this 
section  has  been  put  into  practice  no  difficulty  after  the  first  year  has 
been  found  in  following  it. 

66.  The  reasons  for  this  clause  are  to  be  found  in  Part  I,  ch.  x, 
supra,  pp.  79-81. 

67.  This  clause  is  intended  to  prevent  the  auditor  from  including  the 
fallacious  and  misleading  statement,  sometimes  erroneously  entitled, 
a  comparison  of  "  assets  and  liabilities."  A  mimicipal  corporation 
has  of  course  no  assets  in  the  commercial  sense  but  cash  and  dis- 
used property;  and  the  only  use  the  writer  has  ever  known  to  be  made 
of  a  statement  which  includes  as  assets  all  the  public  property,  such  as 
parks  and  other  real  estate  used  and  needed  for  public  purposes,  was 
to  defend  a  great  increase  in  debt  during  the  administration  of  the 
mayor  who  had  been  responsible  for  it.  There  can,  moreover,  be  no 
sure  basis  upon  which  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  non-commercial 
assets  of  a  city.  The  writer  had  occasion  a  few  years  ago  to  examine 
the  "  balance  sheet "  of  the  treasurer  of  a  Massachusetts  city  which 
showed  a  comfortable  surplus  of  $1,856,000.  Upon  recasting  the  ac- 
count, however,  and  omitting  real  estate  which  could  not  be  sold  and 
which  brought  in  no  income,  the  surplus  disappeared,  and  a  balance 
the  other  way  was  disclosed  of  $260,000.  Here  was  an  error  of  two 
millions  of  dollars  in  a  financial  statement  of  the  condition  of  a  small 
city,  and  the  only  use  that  was  ever  made  of  the  computation  was  to 
justify  an  increase  of  debt. 

68.  This  clause  is  inserted  for  cities  and  states  which  have  under- 
taken to  establish  some  scheme  of  uniform  accounting.  If  this  has  not 
been  done  the  entire  paragraph  should  be  omitted.  The  writer's  views 
on  the  subject  of  uniformity  of  accounting  will  be  foxmd  in  Part  I,  ch. 
X,  supra,  pp.  79-81. 

69.  The  first  sentence  of  this  paragraph  contains  the  writer's  under 
standing  of  the  proper  definition  of  market  value. 

The  second  sentence  contains  a  similar  definition  or  direction  of  the 
proper  way  to  ascertain  the  market  value  of  improved  real  estate.  See 
Part  I,  ch.  ix,  supra,  pp.  76-78. 

70.  The  idea  of  this  section  is  to  concentrate  in  a  single  board  the 
power  to  grant  the  innumerable  licenses  and  permits  generally  scat- 


194  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

tered  through  a  number  of  departments,  except  in  the  case  of  permits 
for  opening  the  streets,  which  for  reasons  of  public  safety  must  often 
be  issued  immediately  upon  appKcation.  The  business  of  issuing 
Hcenses  or  permits  for  marriage,  building  construction,  plumbing,  vic- 
tualers,  selling  of  milk  and  other  produce,  pawTibrokers,  junk  dealers, 
second-hand  goods  stores,  auctioneers,  cheaper  lodging  houses,  stor- 
ing gasoline,  wagon  and  carriage  drivers,  intelligence  offices,  private 
detectives,  street  parades,  bilHard  and  pool  rooms,  bowling  alleys, 
amusement  houses,  picnic  groves,  circuses,  manicures,  massage  or 
vapor-bath  parlors,  keeping  cows,  horses,  swine,  goats  or  fowl,  carting 
grease,  dumping  ashes,  operating  street  cars,  and  many  others  will 
therefore  rest  with  this  board. 

71.  A  judicial  commission  is  a  much  better  body  in  which  to  lodge 
the  selection  of  jurors  than  the  provision  (taken  from  the  Boston 
charter)  in  this  paragraph,  and  where  such  a  commission  exists  this 
clause  should  be  omitted. 

72.  This  is  an  original  feature  of  the  charter  and  is  believed  by  the 
writer  to  be  one  which  will  prove  of  the  greatest  service  to  cities  con- 
templating the  estabHshment  of  a  municipal  lighting  plant.  If  some 
such  plan  had  been  in  general  use  a  large  number  of  disastrous  experi- 
ments in  municipal  ownership  would  doubtless  have  been  avoided. 

As  to  the  board  itself,  this  section  presupposes  a  public  utilities  or 
public  service  commission.  If  there  is  none,  the  writer  would  recom- 
mend leaving  the  clause  as  it  stands,  but  inserting  at  the  end  of  the 
first  sentence  in  section  3,  the  words  "  if  any  such  board  exists  ".  As 
already  stated,  supra,  Notes  21  and  49,  such  boards  will  be  soon  found 
in  all  the  states,  and  when  they  are  established  no  greater  use  can  be 
made  of  them  than  as  a  means  of  obtaining  the  preliminary  informa- 
tion which  a  city  ought  to  have  before  it  embarks  in  the  exploitation 
of  public  utilities  upon  its  own  account. 

73.  It  is  hoped  that  these  provisions  will  not  seem  too  restrictive. 
The  writer's  aim  in  this  portion  of  the  charter  has  been  on  the  one  hand 
to  give  the  city  a  general  power  which  has  seldom  been  conferred  by 
the  state  legislatures  of  this  country,  but  on  the  other  hand  to  see  to  it 
that  the  exercise  of  this  power  is  hedged  about  by  all  the  precautionary 
measures  which  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  undertaking  make 
desirable. 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  19$ 

74.  The  three  schemes  noted  under  section  4  as  (a),  (b),  and  (c)  are 
rendered  necessary  by  the  different  systems  under  which  private  com- 
pany franchises  are  operated,  as  more  fully  explained  in  Part  I,  ch.  v,  e, 
supra,  pp.  47-48.  It  is  assumed  that  any  charter  contract  that  may 
be  in  force  will  be  at  least  as  favorable  to  the  city  under  clause  (a)  as 
eminent  domain  proceedings  under  (c)  would  be.  If  in  any  case  this 
is  not  so,  clause  (a)  should  be  omitted. 

The  third  plan  is  the  only  one  which  requires  further  attention,  and 
to  that  therefore  the  rest  of  the  section  is  devoted. 

If  the  length  of  this  section  appears  to  any  to  be  excessive,  the  writer 
will  only  say  that  in  his  opinion,  based  upon  experience  in  trying  many 
cases  under  municipal  ownership  statutes  in  different  states,  there  is 
not  a  single  line  in  it  which  is  unnecessary  for  the  protection  of  the  pub- 
lic interest. 

75.  The  basis  of  the  award  is  that  which  the  writer  believes  to  be 
substantially  the  legal  rule  for  the  valuation  of  property  in  proceedings 
of  eminent  domain  where  no  franchise  is  taken.  The  reason  for  insert- 
ing these  definitions  at  length  is  that  their  absence  from  the  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut  statutes  on  the  subject  has  produced  the 
longest  and  most  expensive  valuation  cases  in  the  courts.  One  of  them 
lasted  116  days,  most  of  which  time  was  devoted  to  the  presentation 
and  discussion  of  evidence  which  under  the  provisions  of  this  section 
would  have  been  excluded  at  the  outset. 

The  intent  of  the  act  is  to  secure  to  the  owner  the  full  preservation 
of  his  common  law  rights  of  property  howsoever  acquired  (by  purchase, 
prescription,  eminent  domain,  or  gift)  without  regard  to  the  original 
cost;  but  to  allow  him  nothing  for  his  right  or  franchise  to  use  the  pub- 
lic ways  for  the  distribution  and  sale  of  the  commodity  in  which  he 
deals,  except  in  the  rare  cases  in  which  he  or  his  predecessors  have  paid 
cash  to  the  public  authorities  for  his  franchise  and  then  only  to  the 
amount  actually  paid  without  interest. 

Such  franchises  as  the  right  to  be  a  corporation,  to  sell  the  commod- 
ity in  question  (if  that  be  a  franchise),  to  exercise  the  power  of  eminent 
domain,  and  other  similar  corporate  (or  individual)  privileges  are  ex- 
cluded from  the  award,  and  are  retained  by  the  owner  for  what  they 
may  be  worth. 

What  are  commonly  known  as  water  rights,  that  is,  easements  of 
flowage,  diversion  and  power,  when  once  acquired  are  common  law 
rights  of  property  and  are  to  be  included  in  the  transfer  and  valuation. 


196  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

All  common  law  easements  pass  to  the  city.  The  street  franchise, 
however,  that  is,  the  right  obtained  from  the  legislature  or  its  agents 
to  use  the  highways  for  pipes,  conduits,  wires,  etc.,  ceases  absolutely; 
and  the  franchise  under  which  the  city  will  operate  is  a  new  franchise 
obtained  under  the  act  itself.  This,  at  least,  has  been  the  writer's 
interpretation  of  similar  statutes,  and  it  is  the  simplest  explanation  of 
the  legal  situation  of  the  parties. 

Under  this  clause  there  is  no  chance  to  enhance  the  award  by  reli- 
ance on  such  extraneous  elements  of  value  as  are  generally  included  in 
"  going  value  "  or  "  going  concern  value  ".  If  by  these  phrases,  so 
much  used  and  abused  in  rate  and  valuation  cases,  is  meant  anything 
more  than  the  miscellaneous  expenditures,  including  interest  during 
construction,  which  are  a  necessary  part  of  the  actual  capital  cost,  and 
therefore  of  the  value,  of  any  complete  plant  or  structure,  such  addi- 
tional element  of  value  must,  if  it  amounts  to  much,  be  dependent  upon 
franchises  or  earnings,  and  is  therefore  expressly  excluded  from  con- 
sideration. In  eminent  domain  cases  there  may  be  a  special  legal 
element  of  value  due  to  the  fact  that  the  plant  has  been  tested  in  its 
assembled  condition  and  foimd  to  disclose  a  special  degree  of  economy 
in  operation.  This  value  is  sometimes  designated  by  or  included  in 
the  phrase  "going  concern  value",  but  it  is  usually  small  and  need  not 
be  considered  in  this  section,  the  object  of  which  is  merely  to  arrive  at 
a  fair  compensation  to  interests  which  have  no  constitutional  right 
to  any. 

Conscious  from  many  years  of  professional  experience  in  the  trial  of 
public  service  company  valuation  cases,  both  those  which  involve  fran- 
chises and  those  which  do  not,  of  the  difficulty  in  drawing  an  act  which 
will  effectuate  the  intent  of  the  compulsory  purchase  feature  of  this 
charter,  the  writer  has  taken  special  pains  with  the  definitions  in  sec. 
4  of  art.  X.  He  will  be  disappointed  if  he  has  not  succeeded  in  avoid- 
ing most  of  the  ambiguities  and  inconsistencies  which  have  caused  so 
much  litigation  under  the  numerous  similar  acts  passed  in  aid  of  muni- 
cipal ownership  in  England,  as  well  as  in  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
and  other  American  states. 

76.  This  paragraph,  taken  in  connection  with  the  preceding  one, 
protects  the  city  against  paying  for  property  which  is  of  no  practical 
value.  One  cause  of  the  many  failures  of  municipal  ownership  in  this 
country  is  the  fact  that  the  companies  have  succeeded  in  unloading 
on  the  city  poor  plants  at  high  prices.     A  further  object  gained  by 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  1 97 

these  clauses  will  be  to  vest  in  the  commissioners  the  power  either  to 
exclude  entirely,  or  to  take  into  account  in  determining  the  aggregate 
value  of  the  plant,  any  contracts  of  an  improvident  character  which 
may  have  been  entered  into  by  the  company.  A  company  expecting 
municipal  expropriation  under  a  statute  of  this  character  has  been 
known  to  enter  into  a  long-term  contract  of  a  most  onerous  character 
with  its  stockholders  (in  the  form  of  another  corporation)  for  the  pro- 
duction of  a  part  or  the  whole  of  its  motive  power. 

77.  This  clause,  intended  to  penaHze  the  unsuccessful  party  in  the 
judicial  proceedings,  if  any,  for  the  determination  of  value,  is  based  on 
the  New  York  condemnation  law,  but  differs  from  that  in  being  made 
to  work  as  it  should,  both  ways,  and  also  in  that  the  penalty  is  a  fixed 
one.  The  writer  believes  that  some  such  device  as  this  should  be 
attached  to  every  condemnation  law,  as  a  penalty  of  five  per  cent  would 
operate  as  a  discourager  of  the  most  expensive  litigation  that  comes 
before  the  courts.  It  should  at  any  rate  be  applied  to  proceedings 
under  this  charter  so  that  the  company  may  not  set  a  preposterous 
figure  in  its  offer,  and  so  that  if  the  price  actually  set  is  reasonable  the 
city  will  pay  it  rather  than  contest  the  matter  further. 

78.  This  clause  will  doubtless  operate  upon  all  mortgages  made  after 
the  date  of  the  act.  Whether  it  would  affect  mortgages  made  before 
the  passage  of  the  act  may  be  questioned;  and  if  it  would  not  a  certain 
embarrassment  might  theoretically  arise  in  case  the  owner  desired  to 
sell  and  the  mortgagee  did  not  or  was  not  satisfied  with  the  price 
offered.  This  is  a  situation  which  is  very  unlikely  to  arise  in  practice 
and  has  not  been  further  considered. 

79.  This  clause,  which  permits  a  reconsideration  of  the  case  by  the 
commissioners  who  were  appointed  to  hear  the  evidence  in  the  first 
instance,  is  important,  as  otherwise  a  new  commission  and  an  entirely 
new  trial  might  be  the  result  of  some  error  of  law.  In  fact,  the  munici- 
pal lighting  law  of  one  of  our  states  (Connecticut)  expressly  provides 
for  an  entire  new  trial  before  a  new  commission  in  case  any  error  has 
been  committed  by  the  first  one. 

80.  The  subject  of  depreciation  would  require  a  volume  to  treat 
with  thoroughness,  and  only  two  points  will  be  referred  to  here. 

Section  5  of  this  article  directs  that  the  depreciation  allowance  shall 
be  struck  upon  the  aggregate  first  cost  of  the  plant,  not  upon  its  current 
value  as  measured  by  first  cost  less  depreciation  to  date  or  otherwise. 


198  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

Both  systems  are  in  use;  that  is,  some  persons  write  off  depreciation 
from  present  value  or  from  the  value  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  and 
some  from  aggregate  first  cost.  The  writer  prefers  the  latter  plan  as 
being  simpler  and  less  open  to  manipulation. 

As  to  the  allowances  themselves,  there  is  room  for  the  widest  differ- 
ences of  opinion.  The  percentages  specified  in  the  charter  are  those 
which,  if  struck  upon  first  cost  and  not  upon  depreciated  value,  the 
writer  beUeves  will  on  the  whole  and  for  the  average  plant  work  out  a 
just  result.  There  are  of  course  water-w^orks  systems  in  w^hich  the 
annual  depreciation  is  less  than  two  per  cent,  particularly  where  the 
chief  value  of  the  system  is  in  the  sources  of  supply.  There  may,  on 
the  other  hand,  be  water  works  consisting,  for  instance,  largely  of 
street  mains  and  pumping  machinery  in  which  the  annual  deprecia- 
tion might  be  far  in  excess  of  two  per  cent.  The  same  considera- 
tions, generally  speaking,  apply  to  the  three  per  cent  suggested  for  the 
depreciation  of  gas  w^orks,  and  with  still  greater  force  to  the  percentage 
of  depreciation  adopted  for  an  electric  lighting  plant. 

Before  this  charter' is  appUed  to  the  industrial  enterprises  of  any 
particular  city  the  question  of  depreciation  should  be  considered  by 
experts  and  the  percentages  fixed  accordingly;  the  writer  has,  how- 
ever, not  left  the  figures  blank,  because  he  is  confident  that  those 
suggested  will  be  found,  for  the  average  works  and  in  the  long  run, 
to  be  substantially  correct. 

81.  It  will  be  noted  that  taxes  are  to  be  estimated  not  on  the  first 
cost,  but  on  the  depreciated  or  present  value  of  the  property,  that  is, 
on  its  book  value  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  —  the  total  first  cost  less 
aggregate  depreciation  to  date.  This  is  the  nearest  approach  to  mar- 
ket value  that  can  be  indicated  by  the  books  of  a  city  and  should  there- 
fore be  adopted  as  the  basis  of  taxation  in  order  that  the  city's  com- 
mercial property  may  stand  upon  a  parity  with  that  of  the  private 
taxpayer. 

82.  Some  cities  carry  no  insurance  against  fire,  and  this  is,  of  course, 
a  defensible  policy  if  the  city  owns  a  great  number  of  buildings.  In 
the  case  of  these  special  enterprises,  however,  it  would  seem  best  to 
insure.  If  policies  covering  more  than  one  year  can  be  taken  out,  the 
aggregate  amount  of  insurance  should  be  so  divided  or  pro  rated  that 
an  equal  part  will  expire  each  year. 

83.  The  general  scheme  of  the  act  will  be  seen  to  be  that  the  pay- 
ments to  and  from  the  annual  expense  account  of  these  commercial 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  I99 

enterprises  are  to  be  figured  out  and  made  exactly  as  if  the  enterprises 
were  owned  by  private  citizens.  In  a  sense  the  system  is  one  of  book- 
keeping, because  some  of  these  items  can  doubtless  be  offset  one 
against  the  other  and  the  balance  only  paid  in  cash,  but  in  a  wider  and 
broader  sense  it  is  not  a  matter  of  bpokkeeping  at  all,  but  of  substance. 
The  result  of  the  plan,  if  strictly  carried  out,  will  be  that  the  citizens 
will  know  just  how  much  money  they  are  making  or  losing,  as  the  case 
may  be,  out  of  the  commercial  undertakings  which  they  have  seen  fit 
to  engage  in ;  and  this,  according  to  the  writer's  experience,  is  an  abso- 
lutely necessary  prerequisite  to  the  intelligent  operation  of  such  under- 
takings under  municipal  ownership. 

84.  There  are  only  two  of  the  charges  to  be  made  against  the  general 
departments  of  the  city  government  for  services  rendered  by  the  de- 
partment of  municipal  property  which  will  give  any  trouble.  One  of 
these,  the  amount  which  ought  to  be  paid  by  the  department  of  public 
safety  for  the  annual  cost  or  value,  the  extra  cost  as  it  may  be  called, 
incurred  by  the  water  works  on  account  of  the  protection  furnished 
against  fire  is  left  blank,  because  it  depends  on  the  size  of  the  city,  the 
extent  of  the  hydrant  system,  the  cost  of  obtaining  a  sufficient  pressure 
in  the  pipes,  and  other  considerations  which  vary  in  every  locality. 
This  blank  should  be  filled  up  only  after  expert  advice  has  been  taken. 
As  to  the  limits  of  the  figure  which  should  be  written  in,  the  writer  will 
merely  refer  to  the  best  discussion  of  the  subject  with  which  he  is  fami- 
liar, namely,  the  report  of  Messrs.  Metcalf,  Kuichlingand  Hawley,  engi- 
neers of  high  repute,  read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American  Water 
Works  Association  held  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  in  June,  191 1. 

One  way  for  fixing  the  annual  payment  for  fire  protection  is  by  the 
hydrant.  The  average  amount  paid  to  private  water  companies  on 
this  basis  is  something  over  $50  per  annum  per  hydrant.  Another  way 
is  to  base  the  charge  on  the  population  and  fix  it  at  so  much  per  capita 
according  to  the  last  census.  Another  way  is  to  charge  a  small  or  nomi- 
nal sum  per  hydrant  and  so  much  more  per  mile  of  main.  To  reach  a 
fair  adjustment  of  this  rather  difficult  matter  expert  advice  must  be 
called  in  and  the  result  will  be  different  for  every  city. 

The  other  department  charge  which  will  prove  a  possible  source  of 
dispute  is  the  amount  which  should  be  paid  to  the  proper  department 
by  the  department  of  public  works  for  lighting  the  streets  and  other 
public  places.  This  ought  to  be  based  on  what  other  cities  are  pa3dng 
to  private  companies  for  similar  service. 


200  .     MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

Section  8  of  this  article  vests  the  final  jurisdiction  over  these  ques- 
tions in  the  state  board. 

85.  By  interest,  as  used  in  the  phrase  "  annual  payments  for  inter- 
est", is  meant  the  amount  actually  paid  by  way  of  interest  on  the  bonds 
actually  outstanding;  not  interest  on  first  cost,  or  interest  on  the  net 
investment. 

86.  This  clause  is  intended  to  cover  the  case  where  the  supply 
(water,  gas,  electricity,  as  the  case  may  be)  is  obtained  in  part  or 
wholly  from  another  private  or  municipal  corporation.  This  is  a  com- 
mon incident  in  both  private  and  municipal  operation  of  these  under- 
takings, and  if  the  management  of  the  works  is  not  compelled  to  include 
the  sums  thus  paid  in  its  annual  expense  account  it  will  be  found  in 
practice  that  they  are  sometimes  left  out. 

87.  Compare  art.  VII,  sec.  i. 

88.  This  section  provides  for  a  depreciation  or  construction  fund, 
and  is  in  substance  new.  It  represents  the  result  of  many  years'  con- 
sideration given  to  the  question  of  the  best  practical  way  to  secure 
the  operation  of  a  municipal  plant  on  sound  financial  principles.  The 
fund  provided  for  is  in  no  sense  imaginary,  or  represented  merely  by 
bookkeeping  entries.  It  is  to  be  an  actual  fund  consisting  of  money 
invested  specifically  in  securities  and  deposits.  It  is  to  be  used  by  the 
department  to  replace  those  parts  of  the  work  the  loss  of  which  cannot 
be  made  good  from  the  annual  revenues;  and  in  practice  the  department 
will  draw  on  this  fund  in  Heu  of  borrowing  money  for  extensions  and 
improvements.  The  certain  result  of  the  system  if  honestly  adhered 
to  will  be  to  prevent  that  constant  expansion  of  debt  which  has  been 
the  most  unfortunate  result  of  mimicipal  ownership  undertakings,  both 
in  this  country  and  in  England. 

89.  The  scheme  of  the  act  is  to  provide  that  the  rates  shall  at  least 
be  sufiiciently  high  to  meet  the  annual  expense,  including  depreciation 
and  debt  requirements,  as  defined  in  section  5  of  this  article.  The  act 
contains  no  prohibition  against  the  department's  fixing  rates  high 
enough  to  produce  a  revenue  in  excess  of  the  amount  needed  to  cover 
the  annual  expense  thus  computed;  but  if  a  surplus  results,  it  is,  imder 
the  provisions  of  section  6,  to  be  paid  into  the  construction  fund  and  is 
not  to  be  used  for  general  municipal  purposes.  The  act  does  not  pre- 
vent the  earning  of  a  surplus  revenue  if  the  city  desires  to  do  so,  but 


NOTES  TO   THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  20I 

provides  that  until  the  works  are  paid  for  the  surplus  shall  be  put  into 
the  construction  fund  and  used  to  reduce  the  amount  of  money  that 
would  otherwise  be  borrowed  for  extensions. 

It  will  doubtless  be  objected  by  some  that  this  plan,  contemplating 
as  it  does  that  the  rates  shall  not  only  be  high  enough  to  cover  depre- 
ciation but  also  to  pay  the  installments  of  debt  and  that  the  annual 
surplus,  if  any,  shall  be  used  for  capital  account,  provides  for  a  more 
rapid  extinction  of  the  debt  than  is  customary.  This  is  the  fact  and  is 
intended.  For,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  the  main  end  to  strive  for 
in  municipal  ownership  is  the  prevention  of  a  perpetual  debt,  and  ever^' 
effort  should  be  made  to  pay  off  as  rapidly  as  possible  such  debt  as  is 
incurred,  or  at  least  to  keep  it  within  the  smallest  limits. 

It  will  be  observed,  moreover,  that  the  total  payments  for  interest 
and  principal  will  not  exceed,  say,  six  per  cent  on  the  cost,  and  this  is 
no  more  than  the  profit  that  would  be  paid  to  a  private  corporation 
doing  the  same  work. 

See  Part  I,  ch.  xi,  supra,  pp.  76-78. 

90.  This  provision  is  intended  to  give  the  state  board  the  right  to 
inaugurate  of  its  own  motion  an  inquiry  into  the  question  whether  the 
rates  are  actually  being  maintained  by  the  city  in  accordance  with  the 
requirements  of  this  article.  It  is  found  in  practice  that  the  taxpayers, 
being  also  ratepayers,  are  generally  slow  to  object  to  rates  which  they 
ought  to  know  are  too  low.  In  order  that  the  scheme  of  the  act  shall 
be  carried  out  as  intended  it  is  necessary  therefore  to  give  the  state 
board  the  power  of  initiation. 

91.  The  board  is  not  to  have  any  power  to  decrease  the  rates,  but 
only  to  increase  them  if  insufficient. 

92.  This  section,  like  sec.  7  of  art.  IX,  is  intended  to  make  it  certain 
that  proper  accounts  shall  be  kept  and  pubUshed  annually.  There  is 
no  item  in  sec.  9  of  art.  X  which  ought  not  to  be  included  in  every  re- 
port of  a  municipal  water  works,  gas  works,  or  electric  lighting  plant; 
but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no  annual  reports  are  made  for  any  plant  in  the 
country  which  contain  the  whole  of  this  information. 

93.  Sections  3  and  4,  relating  to  the  acquisition  of  gas,  water  and 
electric  lighting  plants  are  not  applicable  to  the  acquisition  of  such 
properties  as  markets,  docks  and  wharves.  They  might  perhaps  be 
appHed  to  ferries.     The  acquisition  of  subways,  on  the  other  hand, 


202  MUNICIPAL  CHARTERS 

would  require  special  provisions.  On  the  whole  it  would  seem  better 
to  make  no  provision  in  this  act  for  the  acquisition  of  the  kind  of  prop- 
erty referred  to  in  section  lo,  but  to  leave  the  matter  for  special 
legislation  in  each  case. 

The  accoimts,  however,  should  all  be  kept,  so  far  as  practicable,  in 
the  manner  provided  in  this  article  for  water,  gas  and  electric  works. 

94.  The  justice  of  this  provision  is  so  obvious  that  it  might  well 
seem  to  be  unnecessary  to  insert  it.  As  matter  of  fact,  however,  cities 
and  towns  are  more  or  less  at  the  mercy  of  the  legislature,  and  combina- 
tions between  private  corporations  in  the  city  and  politicians  in  the 
state  legislature  against  the  corporate  interests  of  the  city,  are  not  un- 
known. In  the  case,  for  instance,  of  the  first  municipal  subway  to  be 
authorized  in  this  country  —  that  for  Boston  in  1894  —  it  was  thought 
in  drawing  the  act  that  no  attempt  would  ever  be  made  to  deprive  the 
city  of  the  benefit  of  the  expensive  work  then  undertaken;  but  within 
three  short  years  the  thing  was  actually  done,  and  a  part  of  the  work 
was  turned  over  to  a  private  corporation  at  an  inadequate  rent  without 
compensation  to  the  city  and  without  the  assent  of  the  city  authorities 
in  any  form.  The  constitutionality  of  this  law  was  attacked  by  the 
citizens,  but  the  act  was  upheld  on  the  ground  that  the  subway  in 
question  was  not  a  proprietary  holding  of  the  city  but  rather  a  work  in 
the  nature  of  a  highway  extension.  This  interpretation  was  entirely 
inconsistent  with  the  ideas  of  those  who  were  responsible  for  the  build- 
ing of  the  original  subway;  and  years  later  the  legislature  was  induced 
to  pass  an  act  providing  that  in  the  future  the  subway  should  be  re- 
garded as  city  property  in  the  corporate  or  proprietary  sense.  See  the 
Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves ,  1894,  ch.  548;  ibid.,  1897,  ch.  500, 
sec.  17;  Brown  v.  Turner,  176  Mass.  9;  Massachusetts  Acts  and 
Resolves,  1902,  ch.  534,  sec.  19;  and  Sears  v.  Crocker,  184  Mass.  586, 
590.  Whether  a  law  like  that  of  1902,  passed  ex  post  facto  as  it  were, 
would  be  a  sure  protection  for  the  city  against  subsequent  repeal  may 
be  questioned;  but  it  would  seem  fairly  clear  that  if  such  a  law  were 
part  of  the  original  act  or  franchise  and  the  city  should  expend  its 
money  upon  the  faith  and  credit  of  this  provision  the  legislature  could 
not  afterwards  abrogate  it  without  compensation  or  consent.  Hence 
the  desirability  of  making  it  clear  from  the  outset  that  all  enterprises 
of  a  commercial  character  which  the  city  may  engage  in  are  to  be  re- 
garded as  private  investments  within  the  full  protection  which  the  con- 
stitution throws  around  such  property,  even  when  held  by  municipal 
corporations. 


NOTES  TO  THE  CHARTER  DRAFTS  203 

95.  This  provision  is  intended  to  put  an  end  to  the  objectionable 
practice  of  investing  trust  funds  in  the  city's  own  obligations.  See  the 
corresponding  provision  for  the  sinking  funds  in  sec.  13  of  art.  VII. 
See  Note  47. 

Much  comment  has  recently  been  made  upon  the  practice  of  towns 
and  cities  in  Massachusetts  and  in  other  states  using  trust  money  for 
general  town  purposes  and  carrying  the  "  fund  "  in  the  form  of  a  de- 
mand note,  and  correcting  legislation  has  been  passed  in  this  state. 
See  Massachusetts  Acts  and  Resolves,  1913,  ch.  634.  There  is,  how- 
ever, no  difference  between  this  practice  and  that  of  having  the  fund 
represented  by  a  long-term  bond.  The  money  is  used  or  misused  in 
either  case  just  the  same;  and  the  security  is  no  better  in  the  one  in- 
stance than  in  the  other.  Trust  funds  represented  by  the  borrower's 
obligations  are  not  "  invested  "  at  all.  The  money  is  simply  borrowed 
by  the  city,  and  that  is  in  substance  a  breach  of  trust.  Moneys  be- 
queathed to  the  city  in  perpetual  trust  should  be  kept  as  a  fund  and  not 
in  the  form  of  an  evidence  of  indebtedness.  ' 

96.  There  is  no  provision  in  this  section  specifying  the  court's  having 
jurisdiction  over  these  offenses.  This,  it  is  assumed,  will  be  regulated 
by  general  state  law. 

97.  The  idea  of  this  section  is  to  provide  a  practicable  and  reason- 
ably certain  means  for  enforcing  the  provisions  of  the  charter.  By 
giving,  not  only  to  the  mayor  and  the  city  council,  but  to  any  ten  tax- 
able inhabitants  the  power  to  restrain  the  doing  of  any  work  or  the 
making  of  any  contract  or  obligation  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the 
act,  and  to  enforce  affirmatively  by  mandamus  the  peremptory  direc- 
tions, it  is  hoped  that  an  adequate  system  of  enforcement  has  been 
devised. 

For  a  definition  of  "  taxable  inhabitants  "  see  sec.  i  of  art.  I. 

98.  The  provisions  of  this  section  are  based  upon  the  writer's  expe- 
rience in  drafting  a  number  of  acts  of  this  sort,  and  also  in  the  applica- 
tion of  them.  It  will  be  observed  (see,  for  instance,  the  last  sentence 
in  the  section)  that  the  act  does  not  contain  the  drastic  provision  some- 
times found  in  such  laws  by  which  it  is  sought  to  compel  a  witness  to 
give  incriminating  testimony.  In  the  opinion  of  the  writer  there  is  no 
need  of  such  a  remedy,  and  the  idea  of  it  is  so  repulsive  to  the  average 
citizen  as  to  increase  unnecessarily  the  investigations  of  this  kind. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


{The  Index  does  not  cover  the  charter  drafts  contained  in  Part  II) 


Accounting,  uniform,  80.  See  also  Ap- 
propriations, Loans. 

Accounts,  municipal,  methods  of  keep- 
ing, 79-81 ;  of  water  and  other  munic- 
ipal sources,  85,  86. 

Acting-mayor,  status  and  powers  of, 
179, 180. 

Administration.  See  Departments, 
municipal. 

Advertising,  of  municipal  contracts,  70. 

Aldermen,  boards  of.    See  City  Council. 

Appointment,  of  municipal  officers,  53; 
to  fill  vacancies,  182.  See  also  Civil 
Service,  Removals. 

Appropriations,  annual,  58,  59;  trans- 
fers of,  60;  checks  on  exceeding  of,  75. 
See  also  Budget. 

Assessment,  municipal,  proper  methods 
of,  76-78. 

Auditor,  municipal,  work  of,  in  revising 
annual  estimates,  58. 

Ballot,  avoidance  of  ambiguity  on  the, 
178,  179.     See  also  Elections. 

Boards,  for  administration  of  civil  ser- 
vice rules,  38-40;  for  conducting 
municipal  investigations,  41;  for  the 
control  of  public  service  companies, 
45,  181;  for  supervision  of  municipal 
finance,  186-188. 

Borrowing,  municipal,  general  consid- 
erations relating  to,  25-28;  state  con- 
trol of,  37,  38;  proper  checks  on,  61, 
62;  methods  of,  62,  63;  by  sinking 
fund  and  serial  bonds,  63-67;  in  an- 
ticipation of  taxes,  67.  See  also  Debt 
Limits,  Loans. 

Boston,  present  charter  of,  16,  17;  sys- 
tem of  nomination  by  petition  in,  23. 


Budget,  municipal,  method  of  making 
and  passing,  59,  60.  See  also  Account- 
ing, Appropriations. 

California,  experience  of,  with  freeholder 
charters,  34. 

Capitalization,  of  public  service  com- 
panies, 45. 

Census  Bureau,  mum'cipal  organization 
schemes  proposed  by,  51;  scheme  of 
uniform  accounting  issued  by,  80. 

Charters,  definition  of,  4;  ordinary  de- 
fects of,  5;  history  of,  9,  10;  general 
types  of,  9-18;  defects  of  earlier,  12, 
13;  responsible  executive  type  of,  14- 
16;  provisions  in,  for  initiative,  refer- 
endum and  recall,  17,  18;  for  school 
administration,  18;  relating  to  suf- 
frage, 19,  20;  political  features  of,  19- 
33;  provisions  in,  relating  to  nomina- 
tions and  elections,  21-23;  relating  to 
taxation  and  borrowing  powers,  25- 
28;  relating  to  direct  legislation  and 
recall,  28-33;  demand  for  autono- 
mous, 34;  provisions  in,  relating  to 
civil  service,  38-40;  for  municipal  in- 
vestigations, 40-42;  relating  to  public 
service  corporations,  43-49;  relating 
to  municipal  officers  and  employees, 
50-57;  relating  to  appropriations, 
taxes  and  loans,  58-67;  relating  to 
contracts  and  the  purchase  of  supplies, 
68-75;  relating  to  assessment  of 
taxes,  76-78;  relating  to  accounts  and 
reports,  79-81;  relating  to  manage- 
ment of  water,  gas,  electric  light 
and  other  municipal  enterprises,  82- 
89. 

Charts,  showing  organization  of  city  de- 


208 


INDEX 


partments  under  different  types  of 
charters,  54,  55. 

City  council,  importance  of,  under  re- 
sponsible executive  type  of  charter, 
16;  interference  of,  with  executive 
work,  74;  presiding  oflSicer  of  the,  180. 

City  manager  plan,  14W. 

City  solicitor,  179. 

Civil  service,  municipal,  state  super- 
vision of,  38;  Massachusetts  and 
Kansas  City  plans,  39,  40;  appoint- 
ment of  city  officials  and  employees 
imder,  53;  administration  of,  when 
there  is  no  state  board,  182.  See  also 
Appointment,  Officials,  Removals. 

Collusive  bidding,  for  municipal  con- 
tracts, 70. 

Collusive  profits,  in  municipal  contracts, 
prohibition  of,  73. 

Colonial  era,  city  charters  during  the,  9. 

Commission  charters,  merits  of,  17. 

Common  council,  in  colonial  boroughs, 

9. 

Compensation,  of  municipal  officials. 
See  Officials. 

Competition,  municipal,  with  pubHc  ser- 
vice corporations,  47,  48;  in  award  of 
municipal  contracts,  69. 

Confirmation,  of  city  appointments,  40. 

Contents  and  form  of  charters,  3-8. 

Contracts,  municipal,  form  of,  68; 
claims  for  "extras"  in,  69;  advertising 
of,  70;  special  restrictions  on  the 
award  of  continuing  contracts,  71; 
work  that  should  be  done  by,  72,  73; 
prohibition  of  collusive  profits  in,  73, 
74;  interference  of  city  council  in,  74; 
continuing,  181,  182;  their  legal  sta- 
tus, 189, 190;  the  practice  of  splitting, 
190.  See  also  Advertising,  Collusive 
Bidding. 

Current  expenses,  the  practice  of  bor- 
rowing for,  185.     See  also  Loans. 

Day-labor  system,  of  public  work,  72, 

73. 
Debt  limits,  effect  of,  on  borrowing,  26«, 
62.     See  also  Borrowing,  Loans. 


Debts,  municipal,  state  control  over,  37, 
38;  checks  on  increase  of,  61,  62.  See 
also  Borrowing,  Loans. 

Departments,  municipal,  organization 
of)  50,  51;  personnel  of,  52-55;  proper 
organization  of,  illustrated  by  dia- 
grams, 54,  55;  heads  of,  their  duties, 
192.  See  also  Appointment,  Civil 
Service,  Removals. 

Depreciation,  allowance  for,  in  munici- 
pal plants,  197. 

Direct  legislation,  provisions  in  city 
charters  relating  to,  28-33.  •S'ee  also 
Initiative  and  Referendum. 

Districts,  election  of  city  councilors  by, 
24. 

Elections,  municipal,  21-25;  by  dis- 
tricts and  at  large,  24;  special,  to  be 
avoided,  176.  See  also  BaUot,  Nomi- 
nations, Primary. 

Electric  lighting  plants,  municipal 
ownership  of,  82-89. 

Eminent  domain,  taking  of  land  by  right 
of,  181;  basis  of  award  in  takings 
under  right  of,  195,  196. 

Employees,  municipal,  method  of  select- 
ing subordinate,  53.  See  also  Civil 
Service. 

Encroachments  on  public  property,  pay- 
ments for,  180. 

Estimates,  annual,  methods  of  compil- 
ing, 58,  59.  See  also  Appropriations, 
Budget. 

Executive  department,  municipal,  prop- 
er organization  of,  50,  51.  See  also 
Mayor. 

Fiscal  year,  time  of  beginning,  177. 

Franchises,  term  and  forms  of,  43; 
proper  vesting  of  authority  to  grant, 
44;  regulation  of  rates  and  services 
in,  45;  provisions  for  limitation  of 
profits  in,  46.  See  also  Municipal 
Ownership,  Public  Service  Corpora- 
tions. 

Gas  franchises,  sliding-scale  system  of 
profit-sharing  in,  47. 


INDEX 


209 


Gas  plants,  municipal  ownership  of,  82- 
89.  See  also  Franchises,  Municipal 
Ownership. 

Goethals,  Colonel,  on  judicial  review  of 
administrative  removals,  $6n. 

Home  rule,  municipal,  its  logical  results, 
34.     See  also  State. 

Incorporation.     See  Charters. 

Initiative  and  referendum,  objections  to 
use  of,  17,  18.  See  also  Direct  Legis- 
lation. 

Investigations,  proper  conduct  of,  40-42. 

Judicial  appeal,  in  case  of  removals,  56. 
See  also  Removals. 

Land,  methods  of  assessing,  for  munici- 
pal taxes,  76-78.  See  also  Assess- 
ment. 

Leases,  of  municipal  property.  See 
Contracts. 

Legislature,  powers  of,  over  cities,  3. 
See  also  Boards,  Charters,  State. 

Licences,  granting  of,  193,  194. 

Loans,  municipal,  state  control  of,  37, 
38;  proper  restriction  of,  61,  62; 
forms  of,  62,  63;  sinking  fund  and 
serial,  63-67;  in  anticipation  of  taxes, 
67;  premiums  on,  67.  See  also  Bor- 
rowing, Debt  Limits. 

London,  the  "  sUding-scale  "  system  in 
gas  franchises  of,  47. 

Massachusetts,  franchise  system  of,  44; 
profit-sharing  with  public  service  cor- 
porations in,  46;  law  relating  to 
claims  for  "  extras "  on  municipal 
contracts  in,  69;  public  service  com- 
missions in,  181. 

Mayor,  in  colonial  boroughs,  9;  duties 
of,  in  relation  to  the  annual  budget, 
59,  60;  powers  of,  179;  approval  of 
contracts  by  the,  182.  See  also  Exec- 
utive Department,  Veto  Power. 

Merit  system.     See  Civil  Service. 


Missouri,  experience  of,  with  freeholder 
charter  plan,  34. 

Municipal  ownership,  in  general,  47,  48; 
of  public  services,  motives  for,  82; 
dangers  of,  82-89.  •S'ee  also  Fran- 
chises, Public  Service  Corporations. 

Newport  plan,  i4«. 

New  York  City,  removals  from  police 
force  in,  56. 

Nomination,  provisions  relating  to,  in 
city  charters,  21,  22.  See  also  Pri- 
mary. 

Nomination  by  petition,  23;  signatures 
required  for,  177,  178. 

Ofl&cials,  elective,  number  and  terms  of, 
20,21.  ^ee  a/5(7  Departments,  munic- 
ipal. 

Officials  and  employees,  appointive, 
method  of  grouping,  51,  52;  appoint- 
ment of,  53.  See  also  Appointment, 
Civil  Service,  Removals. 

Ordinances,  municipal,  rules  relating  to, 
180. 

Overlay  or  surcharge  in  municipal  bud- 
get, provisions  for  the,  184. 

PoUtical  features,  of  city  charters,  19- 

Portland,  Ore.,  charter  of,  7. 

Preferential  voting,  advantages  claimed 
for  and  objections  to,  23-25;  forms  of, 
178. 

Primary,  municipal,  unsatisfactory  re- 
sults from,  21-23.  'S'ee  also  Nomina- 
tion. 

Procedure.     See  City  Council. 

Profit-sharing,  in  the  earnings  of  public 
service  companies,  46. 

Proportional  representation,  24. 

PubHc  service  corporations,  relations  of 
cities  with,  43-49;  basis  of  awards  in 
taking  property  of,  195,  196.  See 
also  Franchises,  Municipal  Owner- 
ship. 

Real  estate,  methods  of  assessing,  for 
taxes,  76-78.     See  also  Assessment. 


2IO 


INDEX 


Recall,  objections  to  use  of,  in  cities,  1 7, 
18;  provisions  in  city  charters  relat- 
ing to,  31-33. 

Removals,  of  appointive  ofl&cers  and  em- 
ployees, 53-56;  specific  reasons  should 
be  given  for,  183.  See  also  Civil  Ser- 
vice. 

Reports,  municipal,  79-81.  See  also 
Accounting. 

Residence,  as  a  qualification  for  appoint- 
ment to  municipal  office,  57. 

Responsible  executive  type  of  charter, 
its  merits,  14-16. 

Revolution,  city  charters  prior  to  the,  9. 

School  committee,  proper  organization 
of,  18.  See  also  Departments,  munic- 
ipal. 

Segregated  budgets,  merits  and  defects 

of,  59- 

Serial  bonds,  advantages  of  borrowing 
by,  62,  63;  forms  of,  65,  66;  special 
rules  relating  to,  185.  See  also  Bor- 
rowing, Loans. 

Short  ballot,  its  desirability,  21;  rela- 
tion of  direct  legislation  to  the,  29,  30. 
See  also  Ballot,  Elections. 

Sinking  fund  bonds,  municipal,  borrow- 
ing by  the  issue  of,  62,  63;  how  to  be 
invested,  186. 

State,  variation  in  laws  applying  to 
cities,  7;  general  relations  of  city 
with,  34-42;  control  of  cities  by,  in 
France  and  Germany,  35;  supervision 
of  city  administrative  methods  by,  36; 


control  of  municipal  loans  by,  37,  38; 
supervision  of  municipal  civil  service 
by,  38;  relation  of,  to  pubUc  service 
franchises,  43-49.  See  also  Boards, 
Charters,  Civil  Service,  Loans. 

Suffrage,  provisions  relating  to,  in  city 
charters,  19,  20. 

Supplies,  purchase  of,  by  city  officials, 
68. 

Suspensions.     See  Removals. 

Taxes,  municipal,  general  considerations 
on,  25-28;  annual  levy  of,  method  of 
figuring,  60;  loans  in  anticipation  of, 
67;  assessment  of  property  for,  76-78. 
See  also  Assessment. 

Terms,  of  elective  officials,  20,  21;  of 
mimicipal  bonds  issued  for  different 
classes  of  public  works,  61. 

Towns,  government  of,  in  New  England, 
10,  II. 

Transfers  of  appropriations,  60. 

Types  of  charters,  9-18. 

Veterans'  exemption  and  preference 
statutes,  183.     See  also  Civil  Service. 

Veto  power,  mayoral,  origin  of,  13; 
forms  of,  179.     See  also  Mayor. 

Voting.     See  Elections,  Suffrage. 

Ward  system  of  electing  councilors, 
24. 

Waterworks,  municipal  ownership  of, 
82-89.  See  also  Franchises,  Mimici- 
pal Ownership. 


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